Snow Blind
by Empress of the Light
Summary: Refusing to believe that the only friend he'd ever known would just leave without reason, Kaiba follows after Atem determined to get him back from the snow queen. The closer he comes to finding him, the closer he is to facing his past, his destiny and his feelings for the best friend he doesn't really know. SxA
1. Chapter 1 Snow Job

Disclaimer: I own nothing and I don't make money off of the nothing I own.

Snow Job

-A deception or concealment of ones true identity in an attempt to flatter or persuade

"Crown me."

"Again?" Kaiba groaned and turned Atem's wooden checkers piece over to reveal an etching of a crown.

"It's just a game." He laughed, grating on Kaiba's nerves even more. "You always get so upset when you lose. You should work on that. No one likes a sore loser."

"Says the guy who wins every damn game." He growled staring down at the board mostly covered in Atem's pieces; well if he was honest with himself, all but one were Atem's pieces.

Kaiba glanced up just in time to catch him smile sadly and shake his head. "I've just had more practice with better opponents than you have."

"Heh, like who?" He picked up his piece, having a definite plan of attack and placed it confidently on the board.

Atem sighed and grabbed on of his pieces, hopped over Kaiba and won the fucking game. How did he not see that?! "You lost 7 turns ago."

Kaiba did everything he could not to thrown the checkers board across the room. "Then why didn't you end it then?!"

"You got better. You are learning."

"I've had enough of your shit for one day." Kaiba stood up, almost knocking the table over, and crossed the room to his bed.

Although this 'bed' was more like a bunch of old dirty rags thrown together on the stone floor he'd called home for the last three years. Three years of fighting, starving, loathing and freezing. Kaiba and Mokuba's mom brought them to the estate steward in secret, dressing them in common rags and begging him to take them. Kaiba remembered holding onto Mokuba's hand tightly feeling betrayed and alone but never allowing Mokuba to feel like that. He knew why they were there, he knew his mother was protecting them but in his heart he couldn't help but feel like she had given them up. The kingdom was at war with a strange foreign land led by a wicked enchantress. She came from the mountain and although Kaiba had a hard time believing she really had the powers she was fabled to have, she managed to freeze his father's armies every time he sent one to defend the castle. They were going to lose their kingdom to the witch, so his mother decided to hide them; somewhere the witch would never look. The stables of the opposing kingdom to the south was definitely that place. Working and living as a slave after being raised a prince was hell, but if he revealed himself or Mokuba they would both be executed. The day they heard their parents and the northern kingdom had fallen to the Snow Queen, was the worst day of his life.

Atem was the only person in the entire castle that he hadn't gotten into some kind of fight with. Well, that was a lie. The first day he met Atem, he had jumped into a very unfair fight between him and three guards. Atem ended up saving his ass and somehow got him out of a beating from the headmaster. How did Kaiba repay him? When they were both sent to collect the Lord's horses, he prompted Atem's horse to buck and charge full speed away from the castle. The lord had Atem severely punished and Kaiba didn't see him again for four days.

In those four days Mokuba made him feel like absolute shit: every hour, all four days. When Atem finally returned the servants quarters he looked like he hadn't eaten anything for the four days and his wounds were still bleeding. The steward had told Atem that he was incompetent and couldn't stay at the castle anymore when Mokuba took it upon himself to intervene, despite Kaiba's wishes. For being a little kid, Moki was exceptional and manipulating people and with in ten minutes he had the steward agreeing to allow Atem to stay...but only if he shared Mokuba's room and food. Mokuba agreed, ready and willing to sacrifice that for Atem. Kaiba still didn't understand why Moki did that, until a week later when Kaiba started giving Mokuba his food and made him sleep in his bed. He couldn't let his younger brother sleep on the floor with nothing to eat because of something he did.

Kaiba expected Atem to hate him for what he did and take it out on Mokuba in order to get to him, but he never did. Now a year later, they found a common interest in checkers and played it constantly. Kaiba could beat everyone in the castle at it but could never beat Atem. The more they played against each other the more comfortable Kaiba was with him. Now after a year of ups and downs, Kaiba considered Atem his only friend and kept his interests at the same level as Mokuba's. Well almost. There was one thing about Atem that bothered him a great deal, and that was inability to see value in himself. Kaiba wasn't going to see value in someone who saw none in himself. It was going to be a problem one day...Kaiba could just feel it.

"Play one more game with me." He pleaded almost mournfully. "I'll let you win if you want."

"I don't want your pity and I've had enough for today." Kaiba closed his eyes and rolled away from him.

"...okay."

He heard Atem stand up from the game and cross the room. The door clicked behind him and Kaiba sighed in frustration. What was with him today? Where was the amused comment about him being childish? Or the knowing smirk he usually had on his face when he left the room saying 'fine then sit there and pout'. Something was bothering Atem but... No. He didn't care. Today was his day off...he was going to enjoy it and right now...he wanted a nap.

Knocking on his door and a happy chirping 'hello' woke him up far earlier than he would have liked. "Moki I'm trying to sleep..."

"Well get up it's snowing outside! See look!" Mokuba ran over to him and pulled on his arm. "Come on big brother!"

"Okay okay...I'm coming."

Snow was a bad sign. It meant the Snow Queen was angry or worse...traveling her kingdom. Kaiba got up and shrugged off the cold in the room. He hadn't started a fire in the hearth yet and now he regretted it. Standing up and wrapping his arms around his thin waist, Kaiba followed after his all too chipper younger brother. "It's really snowing. Look at those big flake! Can we go play in the snow big brother? Like we used to?"

"Absolutely not."

Mokuba gave him a pretty convincing puppy look but it wasn't going to matter. The snow was dangerous. "Have you seen Atem? He left the room moping about something."

"I haven't seen him...I thought you guys were going to spend all day playing that stupid game since you are both free of chores today." Mokuba smiled over his shoulder and picked up the pace.

"It's not a stupid game. It's a very complex strategy game that you wouldn't understand. I stopped playing because...I was...I'm tired."

Mokuba slowed his pace to walk right next to Kaiba and looked up directly at him. For a moment Kaiba felt like he was caught with his hand in a cookie jar. Why did he feel like that? "Yeah well whatever you say. I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

He was sure he would have been blushing if it weren't for the blast of freezing air that came into the room when Mokuba opened the courtyard doors. Kaiba had a bad feeling again and this time as they walked out into the castle courtyard, it struck his heart.

Kaiba spent the rest of the day hunting Atem down. The bad feeling just kept getting stronger with every hour that past. It was well into the night when he finally gave up looking inside of the castle and started looking outside. "Big brother we shouldn't be out here."

"Go inside Mokuba. I'll meet you in our room."

"It's too dark and windy out here...Atem can't possibly be out here. If the steward catches you both out here you'll be in big trouble. They killed Ryou for that...when his hair turned white remember?"

Yes he remembered. One of the kinder servants around the castle, was lured into the queen's favor and killed 20 guards before they overcame him...and killed him. No one was allowed outside while it was snowing if they were caught..."Go inside now."

Mokuba sighed and backed away, the light of the torch he was holding dimmed until Kaiba found himself in darkness. It took him a moment to be able to see just a small distance in front of him. Luckily, after years of living on the grounds, he knew them well enough to at least check around the castle. He stared with the main gates and just followed the imaginary pathway that was now buried beneath the snow. after walking at least 200 meters he realized he needed to turn around. His hands and feet had gone numb a while ago. He started to turn when a dark shape came into view a few feet away. Shivering from the cold but trying to put it to the back of his mind Kaiba trudged forward until the dark figure was recognizable. "Atem?! What are you doing out here?"

Atem didn't turn or really look like he could hear him...was he dead? Glaring at him with renewed warmth in anger, Kaiba stomped over to him and forcefully dragged him up to look at him. Atem's lips were purple and his eyes dull. Snow and frost covered his eyelashes and hair. "Why are you out here?!"

"Some one...she...She was singing to me." Kaiba's eyes widened in alarm, was he talking about the snow queen? "She told me I'd be safe and she understood why I...I..."

Had Atem lost his mind? The snow queen was notorious for her lies and Atem knew that...He knew that, why would he listen? No longer feeling the cold and only his anger at Atem's idiocy, Kaiba reached down and swept Atem's legs up and carried him close to his chest. Kaiba's cloak provided them some shelter from the wind and snow but if they didn't return soon both of them would be dead before they could make it inside of the gates. He didn't realize how far he'd walked until he had to walk back carrying at least 130 lbs of dead weight. Just when he thought he couldn't take another step a small ball of orange light came charging at them. "Kaiba! Did you find him?"

He kept walking until Mokuba and two guards came out to help him. They tried to take him from Kaiba's arms but Atem held onto him with what little strength he had left. "I've got him."

One of the guards grabbed ahold of Kaiba's shoulder tightly and even in the dim light and falling snow, he recognized him. "I need to get him inside, Tristan."

"Yeah I know that...And you know that we should kill you both, right?"

Kaiba swallowed the lump in his throat but his glare never wavered. "Well then get it over with."

Tristan turned to the other guard that Kaiba now recognized as Duke. "Get inside...Go straight to your rooms. If he goes on a killing spree, we knew nothing about it."

Kaiba nodded and followed Mokuba inside, running to their rooms as quietly as they could. Mokuba shut the door behind them with barely a click and started to scurry around the room grabbing blankets, pillows, new clothes and food for them. Kaiba didn't pay to much attention to him and focused instead on the lit hearth. Thank the gods Mokuba had the foresight to light the damn thing. Laying Atem in front of it, he started to look over his hands and face to make sure he didn't have frostbite. Atem just laid there staring up at him confused. Why he was confused was beyond Kaiba's comprehension. The longer he stared at him like that, the more his anger returned. "What? You expected me to let you die out there?"

"I...yes. I did." Atem rasped barely above a whisper.

"Why? All because I wouldn't play a stupid game with you?" Kaiba tried to ignore Mokuba's puff of amusement from behind him and continued to glare down at Atem. "Well?"

"No...it had nothing to do with the game."

"Why then?"

Atem sighed and closed his eyes shut as tightly as he could. Kaiba really didn't have the right to ask these questions. He wouldn't answer them himself if Atem had asked, yet here he was, livid that Atem wasn't just spewing his guts out like he wanted, no, demanded. Mokuba came over with a bowl of lukewarm water, probably cold water for all Kaiba's frozen fingers would know. He grabbed ahold of both their hands and shoved them in the water. "That should help for a little bit and then we'll just keep adding warmer water for you. You're really lucky Atem...you almost got frostbite on your fingers."

Atem just nodded, his eyes still screwed shut as if he were in pain. Maybe he was.

"Big brother?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to bed...please wake me up if you need anything okay?"

Kaiba nodded to him and kissed him on the top of his head. "Good night, Moki. Thank you."

Mokuba grinned ear to ear before bounding away to Kaiba's bed, aka the pile of rags. He waited for Mokuba to get settled into the bed before he pulled his hands out of the bowl to dry them off. He refused to look at Atem's face and acknowledge the hurt in his eyes. It wasn't his fault that Atem was acting like an idiot. So why did he feel guilty?

"Why are you helping me?"

"I owe you."

"You don't owe me anymore."

"I do. You have helped Mokuba and myself time and time again. You are the only person in this entire kingdom I can stand and I don't want to have to start over with someone else."

Atem chuckled softly and rolled over to face the fire. Pulling his own hands out of the water, he stretched them out towards the hearth. "I can't see anyone in this castle taking my place. I suppose you have a point. I would feel sorry for the poor bastard who would try."

Kaiba kept himself from laughing, but a small smile still managed to pull at his lips. Finally feeling satisfied that Atem wasn't seriously hurt by the cold, he laid down behind him. Wrapping an arm around Atem's waist, Kaiba pulled back him against his chest. If Atem was disturbed or uncomfortable with the movement, he made no signal of disapproval. Instead he pushed back further, happily taking in the warmth. They laid like that for awhile in warm silence until Kaiba was almost asleep.

"Kaiba...why do you let me stay here around your brother and trust me so much...when you know nothing about me?"

"I know a lot about you."

"Really? Like what?"

"You love to play games, you hate scrubbing floors."

Atem laughed and pulled his hands under his head. "Who would like doing that?"

Kaiba just continued, ignoring his interruption. "You love the taste of wine but rarely drink it. You have an eye for jewelry and expensive clothes. If I didn't know better I'd swear you were the reincarnation of a king." Atem tensed beneath his arm but Kaiba had no idea why. "Your hair smells like apples all of the time because you insist on helping the cook out when he's making apple pie for the king."

"I do love the smell."

"So do I."

Atem was silent and Kaiba thought he was finished talking so they could both go to sleep. He was sadly mistaken. "That stuff doesn't mean you know me."

"What are you wanting me to say, Atem? You are here with me and my brother because you have the patience of a saint. Mokuba is safe with you. I-" He paused, happy he was able to stop himself before he finished that little admission. He was safe with Atem.

"I am not a good person."

Kaiba let out a long sigh and nuzzled his face into the back of Atem's neck. "Go to sleep."

"Did you not hear me? I am not a good person."

"I don't really care. I'm tired and I'm cold and I missed dinner looking for you. GO to sleep."

Atem was quiet, still tense and obviously pouting, but quiet. That was all Kaiba wanted. He was so tired, so hungry, so cold and the last thing he wanted was to have a conversation that would make him leave. Listening to the sound of the fire crackle, he tried to go to sleep but found he couldn't. Something was really bothering Atem to make him leave the castle...maybe that was it. "Are you unhappy here? Do you want to leave? Is that why you were out there?"

Atem didn't move or speak and Kaiba was starting to think he had fallen asleep. "I'm...I don't know...no I don't think I'm happy here."

Kaiba did his best not to let Atem's words sting. Why should he care either way? "If you want to leave I can get you some things together tomorrow and help you get out of here."

"What about you and Mokuba? I know you hate it here too."

Kaiba felt his heart skip a beat. He wanted them to come with him? "We do hate it here..."

Atem rolled over and looked Kaiba in the eyes. "Come with me then. I'll wait until we can get things together...You are right I can't just leave without food or anything. I would really like you to come with me...but I understand if you have to stay."

He had no idea what to say. Yes he wanted out. Yes he had been dreaming of getting out of this god awful kingdom and never looking back. They would be fine on their own, Mokuba and himself. No one would miss them anyway. Now thinking of leaving with Atem, being the three of them, was a far more enticing idea than freedom had ever been before. How could he say no? "I can't let you go alone. Not with that witch out there. Just...you have to wait for me okay?"

Atem smiled and nodded happily. "I can do that."

Kaiba was about to tell him to go to sleep when something caught his attention in Atem's left eye. "Your eye...it's bleeding what happened?"

"Oh." Atem quickly wiped away the blood from his eye and rolled over facing away from Kaiba again. "I scratched it when I rubbed it earlier. It's fine."

"Mhm. Go to sleep. We will get everything ready tomorrow."

As he wrapped his arm around Atem again, he did not feel the warmth of another next to him. It was almost like no one was there. It bothered him a lot but he was too overcome by exhaustion and hunger to do anything about it.

The next morning, the snow came down ever worse than the night before, if that were possible. All of the doors were barred and the windows covered. All except one. Kaiba was put in charge of covering the doors and windows and securing them tightly but he knew if he did that they couldn't leave. With every door and window he barricaded, he started to wonder if he should try to talk Atem out of leaving until the storm passed. Especially considering the storm meant the snow queen was lurking around the castle. Leaving some extra materials near the door he'd left unbarred, Kaiba made his way back to their room. "Mokuba. Do you have everything?"

"Sure do!" Mokuba chirped happily and showed three large sacks filled with things from a list Kaiba had given the boy earlier. "We are all ready. Are we waiting until everyone's asleep?"

"No. It will be too cold. We are leaving now."

"Now..but...The blizzard?"

"I know. Where is Atem?"

"He's...I don't know. I sent Tristan after him but so far no one's seen him."

Kaiba groaned, grabbed two of the bags and turned around to walk out the door, Mokuba in tow. He was starting to get mad. If Atem left already, he swore on what was left of his family's honor that he would track that bastard down himself and kill him. Charging through the corridor and knocking into anyone who wasn't paying attention, he lead Mokuba to the door he hadn't blocked and to no surprise, it was wide open and Atem could be seen in the distance.

"Atem?!"

Kaiba glanced down at Mokuba and they both ran out into the blizzard chasing after Atem's figure. He heard the guards behind him yelling for them to come back and something about a carriage but Kaiba didn't care. The drew closer and closer to Atem, Mokuba continued to shout to get his attention and the wind and snow blew harder. That was when Kaiba saw what carriage the guards were talking about. He stopped abruptly and grabbed ahold of Mokuba's shoulders, stopping him to. Mokuba tried to struggle free when he too saw the carriage. It was pulled by enormous white horses with ice blinders and white coverings. The carriage itself looked like it was made of white animal fur and ice. It looked surprisingly warm considering the chill in the air from the woman who stood next to it. "Atem...My prince. Do not worry. I will ease your pain and end your suffering. You are forgiven here in our Kingdom. With me you will be seen for the great conquered that you are. A god among men."

Kaiba felt his insides twisting when she leaned forward and kissed Atem's left eye, the one that was bleeding the night before. This time it froze closed a bloody tear frozen solid on his cheek and he followed her into the carriage. No, he allowed her to lead him inside of the carriage. Kaiba became so filled with rage that he forgot about the blizzard, the cold and the two sacks of supplies he just dropped with the intention of stopping Atem. Storming forward towards the queen he roared. "Atem?! What are you doing? You can't go with her!"

Atem looked at him blankly, making Kaiba even more angry. The queen however, found the interaction particularly amusing. "And why not, peasant?"

"Because he doesn't belong with a malicious witch like you." Without skipping a beat Kaiba glanced past her back at Atem. "We were supposed to leave together...why didn't you wait?"

The queen cackled as she boarded the carriage, caressing the side of Atem's face after she sat down. "He promised to be mine first. If you want him you'll have to come and get him, peasant. I look forward to seeing you at the castle."

Kaiba grit his teeth together, furious at his helplessness to stop them.

"Oh and one more thing," she giggled and waved her pale slender hand in the air.

The snow around them swirled and came together creating an enormous snow dragon. It's icey jaw opened and it roared at a deafening volume. Both Mokuba and Kaiba fell to their knees covering their ears to escape the sound. The snow queen cackled again, snapping the reins.


	2. Chapter 2 Iceberg

Iceberg

A floating mass of ice carried out to see. It is near impossible to decern it's size beneath the waves.

Kaiba watched the carriage disappear into the blizzard before finally giving into the desperate tugs on his clothes from Mokuba. The dragon lunged forward, his sharp teeth just barely missing Kaiba's leg as he scrambled to his feet and ran back towards the castle where Mokuba was pulling them. "Moki we can't go this way."

"The guards can help us fight off the dragon. I don't know about you but I didn't bring a special ice dragon weapon did you?"

No. No he did not, but he did know if they went back to the castle they would be killed or tortured as spies or the queen's servants. There had to be another option, but there wasn't. Kaiba immediately began to think of plans of escaping the castle and any other mishaps that would happen in between now and then but relented to the fact that was their best chance. When the trees ended into the clearing before the castle gates, Kaiba was relieved to see the stone walls. At least he was until he heard another dragon roar, more deafening than the one behind him. Mokuba fell to the ground, pulling Kaiba along with him. Just in time for them to see another ice dragon dive from the air right into the one chasing them, knocking both of the dragon's back into the forest. Perfect.

"Mokuba! Get up we need to run back into the forest."

"I know you're upset about Atem but we'll die if we go back in there."

Kaiba gestured his head towards the castle wall where a line of archers with fire tipped arrows positioned themselves along the top of the wall. "Still want to go that way?"

Mokuba's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Forest sounds good."

Kaiba grabbed ahold of his arm and helped him up so that they could run back into the forest but this time he ran west instead of north west. He hoped that the dragons would fight each other more north or destroy the southern castle. He was honestly fine with either, but that wasn't what happened at all. Both dragon's in the blizzard were damn near invisible until they were a few feet away. The only way that Kaiba and Mokuba could tell that they were close was because of how loud they were. The snapping of a few trees behind them caused Kaiba to look back over his shoulder and see a white dragon tail heading straight for them.

"Duck!" Both Kaiba and Mokuba dropped to the ground as the silver tail flew over them. "That's not an ice dragon."

"No I don't think so either..." Mokuba responded scrambling to his feet, Kaiba close behind him. "But now's not the time to be identifying dragons, big brother. We need to get out of here."

This dragon was familiar. He'd seen it before somewhere...but where. A few more snaps and a thundering roar and a blast of Ice and wind spiraled just behind them. Kaiba tried to pick up speed and jumped over a fallen tree. The ice blasts continued just behind him into a completely different dragon blast shot at the ground right between him and Mokuba. He tried to stop himself as best he could but with so much momentum the only thing he could do was slide face first into the burning ash and melted snow. Fire? The other dragon breathed fire, but it's white? Mokuba turned around and pulled him to his feet without a word. They continued to run into the entire forest silently and kept running until neither had the energy to move.

Mokuba collapsed to his knees in the snow near a tree and threw the sack he still managed to carry with him on the ground. Kaiba leaned against a tree and eyed the sack, cursing himself for forgetting the other two. They were long gone by now he was sure, and there was no way he was going to go fight a dragon for it. "Damn it..."

If Mokuba heard him he didn't make any indication of it. Kaiba looked out into the snowy forest and wondered where they were or how far it would be to find shelter. They were going to freeze to death if they didn't find some kind of shelter soon. "Moki. I know you're tired but we need to keep moving."

Mokuba still didn't move and Kaiba was starting to get worried. With more effort than he'd like to admit, Kaiba pushed himself off of the tree and moved over to Mokuba. When he knelt down in front of him he could hear the small boy sniffling. "Why would Atem do that to us? I thought he was our friend. You were right...I shouldn't have trusted him so much."

"No no...I mean I am usually right but this time it wasn't Atem's doing. That witch has a spell on him...I should have known last night when I was talking to him but I just ignored it. This...this is my fault." Mokuba looked up at him questioningly, immediately he caught what he had said. "I mean it's my responsibility to pick up on stuff like that to protect you. I missed it so I need to fix it."

"You really are going to get him then?"

"Yes."

"And how do you intend to do that, human?" Kaiba and Mokuba looked up and around them for the source of the strange voice but nothing was visible in the snow. The voice was low but definitely feminine. The words were drawn out much like she was singing...or roaring.

"Show yourself!" Kaiba demanded as he stood.

They waited in silence with the snow falling all around them until a silver dragon's head snaked through the trees in front of them. Now mere inches from Kaiba's face, the dragon sniffed the air and spoke again. "As you wish, My King."

Kaiba didn't know what to say. Now that the dragon was so close he began to recognize her features. The white and silver scales, the blue eyes with fire inside of them. "K-kisara..."

"You remember me? Interesting. You were so little then."

"Big brother...you know this dragon?" Mokuba stammered and stood slowly.

Kaiba didn't know what to say. Yes he did know this dragon. she was the one that brought them to the southern castle with his mother. Where ever his mother was, Kisara was always hovering nearby. "Kisara...where is the queen?"

The dragon's blue eyes grew dark and lost a little bit of the fire. Her head moved lower to focus more on Mokuba, sniffing him and nudging him with her nose. "Your mother is dead, My King. But you know this."

He did, but he had to know for sure. "Why did you let her die?"

Mokuba whipped his head around to stare open mouthed at Kaiba. Kisara growled low in her throat and it felt like the earth trembled beneath them in fear. "My Queen sent me away to protect you and the prince. I am no longer her guardian. When the snow queen attacked the castle I was long gone."

Kaiba nodded, unable to argue with her mother's poor decisions when they were made years ago. "What do you know of the Snow Queen?"

"She used to be a dragon. A sister of mine, in fact." Mokuba shivered and wrapped his arms around himself pulling Kisara's attention back to him. "Why don't you come with me to my new home. It is warm there and I can get you both food."

Mokuba looked up at Kaiba almost pleadingly. If what Kisara said was true then it would be safe to go with her. At this point it was either trust the dragon or die in the bitter cold. Besides...he did miss riding on Kisara's back like he used to as a child. "Alright. Let's go."

The white dragon moved her body to the side and lowered her wing so that they could both climb onto her back. Kaiba got on first and helped mokuba in front of him so that he could make sure the boy wouldn't fall. "Let's go Kisara! I can't wait to fly! This is so exciting."

Kaiba's lips pulled into a small smile for a moment at Mokuba who was a black bouncing ball of excitement. Kisara flapped her wings a few times leveling all of the trees in her wingspan. She didn't give them any warning when she lept into the air and flew above the trees with little effort. Kaiba held tightly to his little brother but became quickly distracted by the white snowy forest below them. It was beautiful, even if it was the product of an evil witch. They flew for hours and eventually the snow let up and landscape turned green. A castle in the distance indicated the western kingdom was still free of the queen's reign. At least one place was safe, although, Kaiba knew it was only a matter of time. When the dragon began to descend and veered away from the castle he wondered where they were going. A large clearing in the trees proved to be the landing pad Kisara was looking for and she gracefully stepped on it before lowering her wings for the two to get down.

Kaiba helped Mokuba down before jumping down himself. Kisara sniffed the air and looked around like she was searching for something. Kaiba rolled his shoulders after taking his coat off. "Is that other dragon back?"

Kisara laughed, or Kaiba hoped it was a laugh. The ground shook again beneath her and the rumble within her chest echoed off of the trees outlining the clearing. It sounded a lot like thunder. "My King, you need not fear that dragon any longer. I am searching for my kin."

"There's more of you?!" Mokuba gasped starry eyed.

"Many more. My sister and the others that have escaped the north castle live here with me but my mate was captured in ice within the throne room. He stayed to protect the king."

"As you should have." Kaiba added bitterly.

Kisara nodded her head and growled in displeasure. "As I should have, and yet...if I had stayed you would be dead."

Kaiba thought about saying he would have managed but she was probably right. He put both of them in danger several times maybe there was more truth in those words than he wished to admit. Kisara didn't wait for any gratitude from either of them and continued to walk into the woods. "Come, My King and Prince. It will be night soon."

They followed her into the forest very confused. Dragons lived on mountain cliffs and in dark caves up high. Even when they were fabled to take over castles they resided on the towers and up high, but Kisara continued to lead them lower towards a valley near the castle. It was very different from a place dragon's normally live. Before Kaiba could ask about it, Kisara sensed their confusion. "After the North Kingdom fell to the Snow Queen, all of the dragons had to hide. She destroyed many of the normal dragon lairs before we began to hide elsewhere."

The lower valley was quite beautiful and covered in very tall trees. Kaiba looked up in an attempt to see the tops but couldn't. They trees were tall enough and large enough to house a dragon or two but it still wouldn't have been safe for them. Trees burn. When Kaiba returned his attention towards Kisara she had stepped across a creek and roared. Mokuba and Kaiba covered their ears but the even that didn't help when the sound of dozens of dragon's roared a short response. The ground shook for a moment and soon all of the remaining dragon's started coming out of hiding to greet them.

"The King...The King of Dragons and The Prince. Kisara you were right. They are alive!" An elder dragon sang similarly to Kisara but was male.

Another stepped forward clanging its head against Kisara's neck. "Does this mean we are attacking the witch?"

"Can we go home now mommy?"

"Did you see our sister?" That dragon voice came from behind them, making Kaiba and Mokuba jump. "Forgive me Sire. I did not mean to startle you."

"There's two of you?" Kaiba breathed in awe and watched the other white dragon with blue eyes walk around them to meet with Kisara.

"No, My king. There are three." Kisara responded almost painfully.

"What happened to the other sister? Is she dead? Did the Queen kill her?" Mokuba started to make his way over the creek, his coat on one arm and the other outstretched to keep his balance.

"Long ago there were three of us. Back before humans and dragon's joined together, there was a war. A war that almost destroyed both races. My sister wanted to destroy the humans but I and my other sister wished to make peace with the humans to protect our family. To end the war. We were not losing, we were creating a new beginning."

"But our sister did not see it that way. She became cold and found a sorcerer to teach her magic. She killed the sorcerer and took his amulet, that is how she is able to stay in her human form. Throughout the years she had stayed hidden in the northern mountains that were once our home until we began to live among the humans. We had no way of knowing her plans..."

"Battling our sister was not something we ever dreamed we'd have to do, but we have grown quite fond of our new home and our new family. The King was born of dragon blood just as you are, Sire."

"Born of dragon blood? What does that mean?"

Kisara laid down on a large boulder near the creek bed. Mokuba followed her up and sat next to her leg, dangling his feet off the edge of the rock. Kisara's sister laughed at him and nuzzled his with her face, before laying in the creek bed itself. The other dragon's seemed to have lost interest in them, having disappeared again. Kisara returned her gaze to Kaiba, watching him cross the creek bed with amusement as she spoke.

"The king at the time of the treaty, drank a cup full of my blood. Joining us together. Through the years he grew older and had children and the first born son would continue the dragon blood within him, connecting us. Your father gave my protection away to your mother after my mate took the position of guarding the king." Kisara raised her head high and Kaiba could swear she was smiling. "He was so proud, I was so proud."

"That doesn't tell me what born of dragon blood means."

"You are the King. It is in your blood and you possess the power of a dragon."

"Don't be absurd. I'm human and have no powers of any kind."

Kisara lowered her head onto the boulder next to Mokuba. "Is he always like this?"

"Every damn day." Mokuba giggled.

Kaiba stood in front of them, arms crossed defiantly. "Watch your mouth."

Kisara rumbled with laughter and Kaiba worried that the boulder would break for a moment. When she wrapped herself around Mokuba and puffed a breath of smoke, he realized that she must have been done talking. She was allowed to be tired, he supposed. She had been flying for hours after fighting off that ice dragon...thing. It had been a very long day. Now that he saw her and Mokuba resting on the boulder, he to became overwhelmed with exhaustion. All of the adrenaline was gone and now he could barely keep his eyes open. As he drifted off to sleep he thought about being home again. Sitting on the throne in a castle filled with dragons and having the world at his feet. He dreamed about being a real king in a warm kingdom with the friend he was so sure would never leave.

It had been at least a fortnight and Kaiba grew impatient. All of the dragons had agreed to search for Atem but none returned with news worth hearing. If he saw one more golden goblet brought back instead of information on Atem, he'd kill that dragon himself. That being said, Kaiba found it odd that the Snow Queen did not attack the dragon's circling her kingdom. It made him nervous. What was she planning?

"Sire, perhaps we should search the northern mountains?" Kisara boomed, stomping over to the base of the tree Kaiba sat up in that towered above the land.

"He's not in the mountains. She has him here somewhere...I think she's baiting me."

Kisara growled in some sort of amusement. "Indeed."

"She is bound to make him appear somewhere and when she does, we will be ready for her."

Kisara did not respond to that. Instead she flew up into the air above the greenery. Her blue eyes scanned the dark clouds in the distance. Kaiba knew not to expect to much more of the day considering it was almost dusk, but he still held on to some kind of hope he didn't realize he had. The sun set on them and with it, whatever hope was left.

"It's time for bed, My King."

Kaiba reluctantly jumped onto Kisara's back from the tree branch. She casually descended into the thick greenery while he became consumed in thought. He'd have to change his approach. Maybe he should leave. Leave Mokuba with them and keep them safe while he searched. The longer he stayed with the dragons the more he began to doubt what he was doing. Should he keep searching for Atem or take his absence for what it was, betrayal. That word didn't sit well and the more he thought about it the more he refused to believe it. Atem had many traits that fucking pissed him off to no end, but disloyalty wasn't one of them.

"Rest. Think in the morning."

He glared at her, mostly out of being caught, and climbed down from her back. The ground shook beneath him from Kisara's footsteps over to her 'bed'. The very same place she slept that first night they arrived with Mokuba. So it did not surprise him when Kisara wrapped herself around Mokuba once again and quickly drifted off to sleep. Kaiba leaned against her side, listening to the other dragons as they rumbled or snored in their sleep. The night creatures of the forest began making just as much noise as the dragons. It was a wonder that they were never discovered with all of this noise. The night dragged on, but Kaiba stayed awake. Unable to turn his mind off even for a second, he still managed to at least keep his eyes closed to try and help. He kept thinking of that day Atem was out in the storm. Had he said something wrong? Could he have done something differently to make him stay? Should he have expected this?

 _Snap._

Kaiba's eyes flew open, his ears focused on the sound. Now all he could hear was the dragon's snoring. The forest animals suddenly becoming quiet was a very bad sign. Someone was in the woods. Preparing for the worst, Kaiba reached out for his sword. One he'd acquired when a dragon brought it back instead of one of those damn goblets. He leaned up away from Kisara, making sure not to wake her or make a sound. Inching his way around Kisara and some of the other dragons towards where he'd heard the twig snap, Kaiba made out the shape of a woman and a man...with a crow's head? Quickly realizing that these intruders had nothing to do with the Snow Queen, Kaiba smirked. Robbers. Idiot robbers, robbing A DRAGON'S HOARD. Were they crazy? It was gutsy...he'd give them that.

Kaiba followed them as they made their way to the rather large pile of golden coins, jewelry and stones. He bit his bottom lip to hold back a laugh thinking of how he'd really just give them the golden goblets if they'd asked. The thought was equally absurd as it was true. The woman reached out slowly towards a ruby necklace, looking all around her for any sign that they were caught. The man with the crow's mask, at least Kaiba had assumed it was a mask, looked all around as well, crouching further away from the pile of gold and a little higher than her. She took several pieces of jewelry and at least 5 of the goblets before Kaiba decided to make his move. With stealthy ease he was quite proud of, Kaiba swiftly approached the couple, hidden behind the familiar greenery until just the right moment. The woman made to switch places with the masked man, pulling his attention to her. That's when Kaiba sheathed his sword and emerged from his cover, tackling the masked man. The woman made a small sound of surprise before she caught herself and stumbled back into the pile of gold. Kaiba and the man both wrestled a little before, the masked man kicked him away. When Kaiba rose to his feet, his sword was unsheathed and he now stood in a position to fight properly. The masked man rose to his feet with greater speed, motioning to the woman to run before unsheathing two daggers. Kaiba watched her go out of the corner of his eye, but most of his attention was on the masked man now poised for an attack with blades in both hands.

"I would not do that if I were you." Kaiba flinched at Kisara's roaring voice from behind him.

It amazed him how quiet the dragon was when she wanted to be. "I can handle this on my own, Kisara."

The masked man relaxed a little, making Kaiba frowned at the strange reaction. Maybe it was shock. "Aight, ya caught me. Just...leave the girl out of this."

"What makes you think we are going to negotiate with you, thief?" Kaiba spat.

To Kaiba's surprise, Kisara responded. "The Crow is our shroud of invisibility. He keeps all others out of our forest. A talented thief and even more talented liar."

The masked man sheathed his dagger while she spoke. Then he removed the crow mask like a hat and bowed deeply revealing a mop of bright blond hair. "Atchur service."

Kaiba's scowl deepened as he inspected 'The Crow.' His face was dirty as well as his clothes. He appeared to be well fed, unlike several of the other thieves Kaiba had run into. They looked to be made of just skin and bones. This man must be 'talented', as Kisara put it, for her to have him in such high regard and for him to have access to regular meals. His crooked grin and friendly eyes had the same comforting effect of a very charismatic man. In other words, this guy was trouble. "And the woman? Who was she?"

"Ah well..." The crow dug his fingers into his thick blond hair. "She's...my thieving partner...she's new...well new to me."

"Partner? Are you sleeping with her?" Kisara roared with laughter as the crow's face paled before turning bright red.

"Wha? Shut up...She's just another thief that's trying to stay alive...comfortably." The crow's crooked grin reappeared. "So she's gonna be hangin' around and before you ask, Yeah yeah you can trust her to keep your secret. There's no reason for her to give away a job locail."

Kisara quieted her roaring laughter enough to finish her questions. "Her title then?"

"Mynx."

"Fitting. At least you admit your animals." Kaiba scoffed before turning his back on the thief. "If this isn't cause for concern, Kisara, We'd better go back to sleep before Mokuba notices we are missing. We have to continue searching in the morning."

"Yeah...I'd better go find Mai...I mean Mynx...She's probably scared to death." The crow dropped and replaced his mask.

"Wait." Kisara took a step closer the Crow. "You have traveled this land as well as the Snow Queen's kingdom. Have you seen a man with amethyst eyes and strange hair? His name is Atem."

The crow frowned in thought, scratching at his chin. "Ya know...I have seen someone like that. Just last week I was stealing a wedding ring from this duchess at the Western Castle. He was in the stables...I don't know...I think he was a servant at the castle. Why would you want to know where a servant was?"

"He's a friend of mine and he was taken by the Snow Queen." Kaiba stated plainly. "Why would you remember a servant?"

"That servant was..." the crow coughed and cleared his throat. "Becoming 'friendly' with the princess. It's not something I'll ever forget."

Kaiba glared at the thief. He had to be lying or it was someone else. Still, it was something and any lead was more than what he had. That would mean that Atem left for this 'princess'. It would also mean the Western Kingdom was in some way working with the Snow Queen for her to just drop him off at the castle. This new development brought up so many more questions than answers and it was to late at night to think. "Come back tomorrow and take me to the castle."

"Wait what? I'm not a guide. I'm a thief."

Before Kaiba could respond, Kisara roared. "Sire. If this man is happy in the Western Kingdom, you should stay here with us. This is where you belong. You are our King."

"As long as the Snow Queen rules I am not a king. If Atem is in the Western Kingdom, it is my responsibility to find out what ties she has with it."

Kisara growled in displeasure but did not find the words to argue.

"Aight...I'll come back tomorrow..." The crow spoke quietly, more to himself it sounded than to Kaiba.

Kaiba nodded a goodbye and began to walk back to where Mokuba slept, completely oblivious to what had transpired. Kisara followed quietly, her mood still sour. She wrapped herself around Mokuba, this time leaving her spiky back for Kaiba to lay against. Kaiba could feel it radiating off of her as he leaned back against her and fell asleep despite how uncomfortable it really was.


	3. Chapter 3 Snowflake

Snowflake

A flake of snow, especially a feathery ice crystal, typically displaying delicate sixfold symmetry. Unique up close, but from far away, just another small piece of snow.

The Crow came back; much to Kaiba's surprise and Kisara's frustration. "Ready ta go?"

"Go? Where are you going big brother?" Mokuba's attention darted between the strange man and Kaiba.

Kisara growled. "He is chasing a phantom."

"We are going to the Castle of the Western Kingdom to have a word with the King." Kaiba corrected. "I need to know why Atem left."

"Your place is here." Kisara roared making the three humans cover their ears. "It is time you acted like a King."

Risking his hearing, Kaiba removed his hands from his ears and stood threateningly. "And run? I will not run from her. If you want me to act like a king than I need to defeat the Snow Queen and take my kingdom back. I can't do that here and you know it!"

"I am supposed to keep you safe."

"And I'm..." Kaiba's shoulders relaxed, slumping slightly. "I'm supposed to give you a home, give all of us a kingdom free of danger where we can all thrive and grow. I can't do that here. I need to confront the Snow Queen. Will you fight with me or stay here and hide?"

Kisara's eyes glowed in blue fire and the feeling of pride swelled in his chest when all of the other dragons around bowed their heads. She bowed her head low too, but her voice still held all of her pride. "We will follow you to the depths of hell, My King. You have the same wisdom as your father did."

"Thank you."

Mokuba glanced at the stranger and strode up to him with a warm smile. "My name's Mokuba. What's yours?"

"Well around here I'm known as the Crow."

"But your real name is?"

That crooked smile widened and he crouched down to Mokuba's height. He reached out his hand for a handshake which Mokuba eagerly took. "Joey."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Joey. You better make sure my brother stays safe or you'll have Kisara and me to deal with."

Kaiba smirked at his little brother. Joey burst into laughter and stood, ending their handshake. "I bet you're just as scary as she is. Don't worry. Ya brother is safe with me. Promise."

Mokuba smiled and bounded over to Kisara. "I'm hungry aren't you Kisara?"

The dragon looked down at Mokuba and Kaiba could see the smile in her fiery eyes. "I am, little prince."

Kaiba watched them stomp away, trying to remember what it felt like to have the ground shake under his feet for when he was far from the woods. Far from Mokuba. "Let's go."

The castle was a lot further away than Kaiba expected. Joey was a lot more of a pain in the ass than Kaiba expected. Or should he say 'the Crow'. Which Joey made a point to be a dick about. Apparently his fake name was all he really had to be proud of. A week of traveling through the thick forest and they finally met up with 'Mynx'. She had long blonde hair waving down her back. She looked a little worse off than Joey. Too skinny and very dirty but she was getting better. He knew that because Joey continuously handed her food throughout the day, made sure she slept and insisted she wear better clothes that he had stolen for her. The amount of care he placed in Mai reminded him of how much care he placed in Atem.

They had one more day of travel to reach the castle. The camp they set up on a hill overlooking the town surrounding the castle was meager as usual. Normally Joey wanted out of site but this time he didn't seem to mind. Joey and Mai had left to say their goodbyes at least an hour ago. Kaiba didn't care where they went or what they were doing. As far as he was concerned Joey was free of any loyalty to Kisara. He could see the damn castle even in the forest through the trees. There was no reason for Joey to stay...aside from make his life more of a hell than it already was.

"Hey, Kaiba. I'm back."

Kaiba glanced up to see Joey's even more disheveled hair than normal and poorly arranged clothes. Frowning in disgust, he turned back to the view of the castle through the trees. "Just when I think you can't possibly be more uncivilized, you prove me wrong."

"Says the guy who's traveling all over creation with a dragon and then a thief. When's the last time you've slept in a bed? Have you ever slept in a bed?" Joey chuckled and plopped down in the dirt next to the fire.

"You heard Kisara. I'm a King, obviously I have."

"When."

Kaiba grit his teeth together trying his best not to jump over the fire and beat the shit out of Joey. He was trying...really...hard.

Joey shook his head. "The last time I slept in a bed was 10 years ago. I lived with my sister and mother in the Eastern kingdom. The Snow Queen came through with an army and destroyed our village. My mom, sister and I got away but my dad didn't make it. My mom and sister got sick from the cold. Mom died shortly after, my sister died just before I found Kisara."

Kaiba really wished Joey would just shut up. He didn't want to talk to him, he didn't want to know about his pathetic past. He just wanted to get to the castle. Why was Joey still there?! "If your wanting sympathy from me, you won't find it."

Joey was silent for a moment, a moment Kaiba knew wouldn't last. "Are you really going to try and kill the Snow Queen?"

Kaiba finally looked over at Joey. His eyes glued to him, searching for an answer. Kaiba had never seen him look so serious. "Yes."

Then Joey's eyes narrowed. "Because of your 'friend' or because it's the right thing to do?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"Both then."

"That's not a good enough answer."

Kaiba glared, arms crossed over his chest. "I don't need to explain myself to you."

"No you don't," Joey began. "But if you want my help or the help of literally ANYONE you're gonna need to."

Since when did animals make sense? Kaiba looked back at the fire, trying to collect his thoughts into one coherent sentence without fuck being every other word. "Would you go after Mai if she left?"

"Yeah. Done it tons of times." Joey quickly responded before smirking wolfishly. "It's hard to tie that girl down."

Kaiba wrinkled his nose in disgust but continued anyway. "Even though she left of her own free will? When she promised to stay?"

"So you're in love with this 'friend' of yours?" Kaiba's eyes narrowed to slits at the quotation gesture Joey did with his hands.

"Why does it matter? He's my friend and I think he's in danger. He wouldn't have just left with her. He knew I'd have left wi-" Kaiba stopped himself. "I'm going to get my kingdom back and save my friend's life, even if I have to set fire to everything."

"Sounds like you're in love to me."

"Are you not listening to anything I'm saying?!" Kaiba screamed and bolted up to tower over Joey.

His typical crooked grin spread across his face and Kaiba wanted nothing more than to tear it apart. "Okay. Okay okay." Joey held up his hands in defeat. "So you are just friends. I got it."

Kaiba turned to walk away; completely fed up and worn out, but Joey's voice from behind him made him stop for some reason completely beyond him. "We'll find him. If he's not at the castle don't give up. I'll keep searching. Like Kisara said, I'm everywhere."

When he turned around Joey had already gotten to his feet and started to put his mask back on. "You aren't going into town with me?"

"This is where I have to leave you. When the sun comes up I have to be halfway to the south, and from what I heard...it's a real bitch traveling through that blizzard."

Kaiba nodded. He should be thanking him or wishing him to be safe while he's traveling but honestly he was to relieved that he was leaving. The crow readjusted his dagger sheaths and made sure his clothes were straightened before he gave Kaiba a final nod with his long crow like beak, before dashing off into the forest. Kaiba sat back down and leaned against a tree near the dying fire. The peace and quiet made it easy to fall asleep and sun made it easy to wake up; piercing through the trees just like the view of the castle had. With no one else to wake up or collect together, Kaiba made his way towards the castle in record time. The pack of berries and shortbread that Joey had left behind for him were a quick easy breakfast for on the go. He was grateful for that, even if Joey was an uncivilized barbarian. The sun was about to set when he stepped through the town square, heading straight for the castle. He still wasn't sure what he was going to say, or if he was just going to bypass all of the proper shit and sneak into the stables. He stopped just outside of the castle to stare up at it. It reminded him of the castle in the south, maybe a little nicer. Why didn't his mother bring them here?

"Your highness...you should be inside."

A soft male voice caught Kaiba's attention, leading him towards the stables. It was easier to get to than it was in the south, he realized that much. He'd stopped when he caught sight of a glamorous ball gown. That must have been the princess. "Please go inside, princess. It's your engagement party...you should be spending it with him."

"I want to be with you. I've already told him no and my father no. Please don't push me away." Kaiba leaned a little away from the stable wall to see them better. He saw her face quite clearly. She was beautiful. Her dark hair fixed up on her head with flowers and crystals and tears clearly running down her cheeks. "I love you."

She reached out and took the face of the young man in front of her, pulling him into a kiss. That in turn pulled him into Kaiba's view. He felt his stomach plummet when spiky hair blocked his view of her face. Maybe Joey was right...Kaiba shut his eyes and before he realized it, he'd walked up to them and grabbed ahold of Atem's shoulder. Atem jumped in surprise, breaking their kiss and spun around. Both now stared at Kaiba in alarm, and that's when he realized he'd made a mistake. This wasn't Atem.

"Oh...I'm sorry...You looked like a friend of mine." Kaiba felt sick from the pull of relief and disappointment.

The young man with similar hair and eyes to Atem smiled warmly. He looked so much like him...were they related? "Oh that's alright...I don't believe we've met before...You aren't a bandit are you?"

"NO!" Kaiba straighten up, glaring at the young man. "My name is..."

When Kaiba thought about what he'd say to the King, had he went inside the castle, and he'd settled on telling them the truth. He was Seto King of North. Maybe...maybe using his given name was not a good idea. What should he do?

The young man tilted his head slightly, waiting until he realized that this stranger before him was having an identity crisis. He bowed. "My name is Yuugi, Prince of West."

"I am Tea, Princess of East." She curtsied with such grace in that large heavy gown that even Kaiba was impressed. "Well...I was..."

"No. You are." Kaiba stated, finding his footing. "I'm Seto King of North."

Both blinked at him in shock before Yuugi frowned. "The King of North is dead."

"My father is, but my mother sent me to the south to hide me from the Snow Queen. I am the rightful King of North."

Both the prince and princess exchanged a meaningful look before they grabbed ahold of Kaiba's arms, pulling him towards the castle. The prince turned to speak to Kaiba over his shoulder. "Come with us. If you are who you say you are...we have to take you to father."

"But the engagement party..." Tea began only to have Yuugi dismiss it.

"It's going to have to wait." He smiled at her and she looked like he'd given her the world.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. He couldn't help it. They were as bad as Mai and Joey. He thought he'd gotten away, HA. The lovely couple didn't even notice his groan and obvious disgust and pulled him through the castle. Once they pulled him into the throne room however, both lost all happiness. Tea held onto Kaiba's arm in a very formal manner while Yuugi let go of him all together. The large doors opened and allowed them in, Yuugi announced them. "Father. I am sorry for the intrusion, I have a very important guest."

The King rose from the throne and shook his head at them until he laid eyes on Kaiba. "First, Princess. The Prince of South is here to meet you before the engagement party. Go to him in the courtyard. Go child."

The sparkle in Tea's eyes disappeared almost instantly as she made her way towards the king. She curtsied before him and kissed his hand, turning away to head off to the courtyard. Yuugi watched her, stiff and brittle. The room fell quiet and the king motioned for everyone else to leave the room. Yuugi watched them all leave a small amount of fear in his eyes.

"Father I-"

"No. We talked about this. You promised me you would not interfere." The king stated firmly.

Yuugi looked down at the ground and Kaiba watched them intently, wondering if the King even realized he was in the room. "She doesn't want to marry him dad. Why can't she stay?"

The king sighed and walked upto the prince, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. Kaiba felt a pang of loss at the sight. "I know you want what's best for her...and that is to move to the south. The Queen is already at our borders. Princess Tea will be safer to the south where the queen has not tried to enter yet."

Kaiba cleared his throat when Yuugi's shoulders slumped even more. Both quickly looked up at him, obviously having forgotten that he was left in the room. "I just came from the south. The Snow Queen was there a month ago. There is still a blizzard blocking the west from the south as we speak."

The king looked at Yuugi questioningly. "This is Seto, Father. King of North."

"Impossible," the king spat before striding over to him. "Unless...your eyes...I've seen them before."

"There is a way to tell for certain, right father?" Yuugi offered, still a little sullen from being shot down.

"Yes. Come, King Seto of North."

He followed both of them into a spiral staircase hidden by a curtain behind the throne. They ascended into a dimly lit room filled with books and a large mirror in the center. The king strode proudly to the mirror while Yuugi stood next to the doorway. He offered Kaiba a reassuring smile and held his hands behind his back. Kaiba continued into the room and stood where the king gestured, in front of the mirror. "This mirror was dipped in dragon blood from before the treaty with the dragons, of course you know that."

"Of course." Kaiba replied sarcastically.

The king didn't seem to notice any sarcasm and continued normally. "Any descendant of the King of Dragons held the blood of the white dragon within them. Making their eyes burn blue and give them the power of a dragon. This mirror will allow a true descendant of the Dragon King to see anything they wish. Tell the mirror what you wish to see and let it make it so."

Kaiba looked from the king back behind him to Yuugi. The king remained expressionless but Yuugi held his head high. He had faith in him even though he was a stranger. Kaiba wasn't sure if it was faltering or worrisome when he turned back to face his own reflection. He took a deep breath and prepared to say the wish he had no hesitation making. "I wish to see my friend. I want to see Atem."

His eyes burned and he had to blink the pooling moisture out, hoping to ease the sting. The heat that started in his eyes now engulfed him entirely. The source? The mirror. Soon it changed and waved to reveal Atem kneeling in front of the Snow Queen's throne. She smirked wickedly down at him while he looked at the icy floor beneath him. He looked like he was fiddling with something on the frost covered floor, but Kaiba couldn't see what it was. Atem was covered in frost as well. His face had the marks of frost and ice clinging to his eyelashes and cheeks, skin pale as the icy room around him. His eyes were dulled but still alive. Atem was still alive. His attention quickly darted to the thick icy chains that held Atem; A shackle at his neck and two on his wrists. Atem was a prisoner...how could he have ever doubted him? Kaiba stared at the image, filled with so much emotion he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to try and touch him. The instant he touched the mirror however, the image went away. Leaving him with a perfect reflection of himself, tears staining his face. The glass was cold, far too cold to be from the night air. Frost spread from the corners, completely covering the mirror. When Kaiba stepped back, he saw Yuugi and the king staring at him with wide eyes.

"You really are...You are the King of the North." The king whispered in awe.

Yuugi stuttered out, his hand covering his mouth in shock. "Atem? You know where he is?"

Yuugi's question caught off guard. "You know him? Did he used to be a servant here too?"

"He's my older brother. He's been missing for four years." Yuugi lowered his head when his father walked by.

"He is a murderer. You are best without him, King of North." The king's sadness was evident in his shaky voice. "Let us meet with the Princess of East and Prince of South. Perhaps their marriage is not best for the future of this land."

Yuugi lifted his head slightly, but he knew better than to hold his breath. Kaiba followed both of them to the staircase, a quick glance back at the mirror confirmed his fears. It was completely encased in ice.

Kaiba sat on a lavish velvet sofa in Princess of East's room with Prince Yuugi eating from a tray of assorted cheeses and crackers. He hadn't had food in at least 10 hours at this point, cheese and crackers sounded delicious. Yuugi and Tea sat together on a chair across from him and held tightly to each other while watching him eat with amusement. Kaiba glanced up at them and scowled. "What's so funny?"

"You eating." Tea giggled. "It's like you haven't eaten in days."

"I haven't eaten since breakfast."

Both of their smiles fell and Tea jumped up from Yuugi's lap. She clapped her hands together once and a servant entered the room. "Please bring us up dinner."

"Three dinners, your highness?"

Tea turned to look at Yuugi. He shook his head no, smiling at her as she turned around. "No just two please."

"Yes, your highness."

"I didn't know you hadn't eaten Tea?" Yuugi raised a curious brow and for a instant Kaiba saw Atem in his face.

"Girls have to watch their figures for dances. Well since our King of North showed up and canceled the formal party, I can eat." Tea curtsied to him, once again after the party was canceled. "Thank you again, truly."

"The Prince of South isn't that bad. I lived in his castle for years." Kaiba sighed. "He can be a little opinionated and foolish though."

"Opinionated and foolish? By the gods...the king was telling the truth."

Kaiba quickly stood and so did Yuugi. The Prince of South stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest looking at all of them accusingly. Part of his long purple hair swept over his shoulder. Tea looked down and began to wring her hands when he chuckled. "You have nothing to worry about, Princess. I would have to be blind not to see how much Prince Yuugi cares for you."

"I know that you wanted my sister. Mana was so excited to marry you...This was the least I could do for you...for her...I'm so sorry."

Prince Mahado strode up to Princess Tea and took her hands in his. "Do not cry, princess. What's done is done...I miss her too."

"What happened to Princess Mana?" Kaiba asked, deciding to sit back down as a servant came in with a huge cart full of food.

"Her carriage was attacked by bandits on the way to her wedding in the South Kingdom. They slaughtered everyone and stole everything. Mana was never found but..." Princess Tea trailed off and Prince Yuugi stood to wrap his arms around her for support.

It was Prince Mahado who continued. "Even if she had survived the attack, the Snow Queen attacked the area shortly afterwards, destroying everything. My father couldn't send scouts to find her."

Kaiba nodded, trying to remember etiquette for eating that he'd learned from his mother as a child. Sadly, it was mostly gone but he did remember a few things. The princes and princess fell into a soft conversation of the past, the wedding that never was and the wedding that will never be. Kaiba continued to eat until he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. Looking up, Prince Yuugi smiled softly. "Feeling better, Sire?"

"Much. Thank you."

"If I may...I have a question for you. When you asked the mirror to see Atem, what did you see?"

"Atem? He's alive?" Princess Tea asked hopefully.

"Atem, the servant who stayed with you, right Kaiba?" Prince Mahado picked up a goblet of wine, making himself comfortable on the sofa opposite from Kaiba. "Oh, I mean, King Seto right? Why is he important?"

So many questions, Kaiba decided just to answer what was asked of him first. "I saw him in the North Castle with the Snow Queen."

Yuugi's smile faded, replaced by concern. "The Snow Queen? Is he in danger?"

"She's holding him prisoner...I don't know why she chose him...but I'm here to get him back."

Prince Yuugi glanced over to Prince Mahado. "You had him at your castle?"

"He was a servant. Picked up on one of my travels to the west. He was a hard worker. Good man." Prince Mahado swirled the goblet of wine in his hands. "Why does it matter?"

"Atem is my brother, Prince Atem of West. He was banished from the kingdom by my father after he killed my uncle."

The entire room fell silent but Kaiba had never heard his heart beat louder. He was sure in the silence everyone could hear it too. He killed someone?! Atem killed someone? No that can't be true. "How do you know? I mean...How do you know it was him?"

"Besides his own admission? He ran to me as soon as he did it." Yuugi ran his hands over his arms as if he felt a chill in the air. "He was covered in blood and crying...he made me wake father and tell him."

"Oh Yuugi..." Princess Tea sang soothingly, caressing his back softly.

Kaiba couldn't find the words but was grateful for Prince Mahado's ability to speak. "Why? I do not understand. Atem was an honest, loyal servant. A better man than most. Why would he do such a thing?"

"I don't know...he was rambling about our uncle being king and betraying everyone. It had something to do with the Snow Queen." Prince Yuugi smiled at Princess Tea and took her hand in his.

Kaiba crossed his arms over his chest and scoffed. "It always has something to do with that witch...but that doesn't explain why he would trust her..."

Yuugi turned to look at him, horrified. "He trusted her? So he went with her willingly?"

Kaiba nodded, frowning in thought.

"Well. He could have been bewitched. I have heard stories of men going into the blizzards and getting ice in their eyes. Like sleet in a way. When they return home, if at all, they act strange and have a desire to go back into the storm. It is a spell of sorts to manipulate others to do her will." Prince Mahado explained before taking a sip of wine. "I take it he was the one responsible for that huge storm in the South Kingdom not long ago."

"Yes. She was there...I think she was there specifically for him."

"Well the storm moved north. When I left, most of the south had thawed." Prince Mahado chewed his bottom lip and looked into his cup. "I spoke with the King about what he wishes to do, Prince Yuugi. I do not think you will like his solution."

"What is that?"

"He wishes us to send the king away to do his quest on his own and continue with the engagement so that I can take Princess Tea to the South where he feels it safe, but you and I know that it is only a matter of time before the south falls to her magic."

Prince Yuugi patted Princess Tea's hand and gestured for her to sit on the chair. Now Kaiba was interested. "You have an alternate proposal?"

"Kaiba. If all that I'm hearing is true. You are the only one who can stop her. I believe as you do that there is a reason she came all the way to the South Kingdom to collect Atem. He is important. Perhaps she is the reason for the crime he had committed. We will not know until we speak with him."

"We?" Kaiba frowned, his caution evident in his voice.

"Yes. Prince Yuugi and I will accompany you to the North Kingdom to ensure you make it safely."

"What of our engagement?" Princess Tea eyed Mahado with similar cautious curiosity.

"Your safety, Princess, is our top priority. I'm not sure where else you would be safe if a battle broke out."

Kaiba hummed in thought. There was only one safe place he knew of. "The dragons."

"Excuse me?" Princess Tea placed her hand delicately on her chest.

"The dragons. They are alive and I know where they are. My little brother is with them now. They can protect you while we take back the North Kingdom."

Prince Yuugi grinned with determination. "It is settled then? When should we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning, before the king wakes would be best." Prince Mahado stood and finished the rest of his wine. "That being said, I must retire."

"Meet here tomorrow morning then?" The princess beamed and lead Prince Mahado to the door.

Kaiba watched both of them leave before he realized Prince Yuugi had offered his hand. "We should be in our beds as well. Come with me, Sire. I'll take you to your room."

Kaiba took his hand and frowned seeing Atem's face again. He let Yuugi help him up and lead him out of the room but only because he couldn't focus with seeing Atem's face in Yuugi again. When they reached the guest chambers for him, Prince Yuugi lead him inside and gestured around. "Here we are. I hope that you sleep well tonight. We have a long journey ahead of us."

Nodding absentmindedly while looking around the room, Kaiba realized Yuugi was still standing at the doorway. Trying to keep himself from seeing Atem in Yuugi's face again, he continued to look around the room while he spoke. "Is there something you need of me Prince?"

At first Yuugi didn't respond and Kaiba feared he'd have to turn and face him. "You speak highly of my brother. Both you and Prince Mahado...but you are risking your life for him. You spent a sole wish on him...Just how important is he to you?"

"Everyone keeps asking me that question."

Kaiba could hear the smirk in Yuugi's voice. "Maybe you should make it more clear then."

Sitting down on the bed, Kaiba began to take his boots off. "He is my friend."

"I'm so happy to hear he has a friend. One as good as you. He's always had a hard time making friends."

Kaiba sighed and looked up at the prince. "I'm going to get him back. You'll see him again."

"I know you will." Prince Yuugi smiled, bowing his head quickly in goodbye before shutting the door behind him.

Kaiba sat on the bed staring at the door longer than he wanted to admit. He missed Atem so much. He was miles and miles away, cold, probably in pain, alone...and there was nothing he could do about it. No matter what, he couldn't make all of that stop right now for him. He couldn't swoop in and make him all better with a snide remark or a game. The image of Atem kneeling on the frozen floor of an icy palace, staring down with little or no hope was burned into his mind. Falling back against the pillows, Kaiba let out a shaky breath as a far more frightening thought pulled to the front of his mind. Barely above a whisper, Kaiba muttered to himself. "Damn it...I'm in love with him."


	4. Chapter 4 White Out

White Out

Snow everywhere. Everywhere but inside.

The next morning Kaiba woke up from nightmares of dying alone in the icy storm on the way to the North Castle. Just before he could get to Atem. Even though he'd woken up two hours ago, he still couldn't shake the cold. Now they traveled by carriage, an hour away from the castle and an hour closer to their goal. Princess Tea had left them a half hour ago to follow a young woman with long wavy blonde hair by the name of Mynx. Kaiba was sure the two would get along. Especially when Princess Tea offered to give Mynx some of her dresses. Prince Mahado and Prince Yuugi sat across from him in the carriage, worried as they watched him shiver periodically.

"Do you need another coat or a blanket, Kaiba?" Prince Mahado asked.

"No." Kaiba bit out and tightened his arms around himself. "I mean. No Prince Mahado."

The cold felt like it came from within. He just couldn't get warm. Prince Yuugi shook his head and moved to his side of the carriage. "No need to be formal. We are all friends here." Before Kaiba could protest, Yuugi had placed a hand on his forehead. "Kaiba...You're freezing!"

"It is cold outside." Mahado chuckled. "We are heading straight into the Snow Queen's realm."

"No. I mean..." Yuugi groaned at his loss for the right words and just grabbed Mahado's hand from across the carriage. "Feel."

Kaiba wasn't fast enough to back away from Yuugi flinging Mahado at him, but the instant he was touched, both Mahado and Kaiba pulled away. Mahado's voice was grave. "You are bespelled too."

"I'm just cold. You s-said so yourself...it's cold." Kaiba stuttered from the cold. Now even his arms around himself weren't helping.

"It's probably from the mirror. You touched the mirror that wasn't supposed to happen. Um..." Yuugi took a hold of Kaiba's shoulders and turned him so that they were facing each other. "Father told me that if this ever happens there's only one way to keep the cold from reaching your heart. You have to talk to me about someone or something you love. I know it sounds strange but the healer just had to do this with one of castle guards. Uh...talk about...talk about your brother."

This was just ridiculous but it was clear Yuugi wasn't going to let it go. Muttering curses under his breath, Kaiba laid his head against the Carriage seat back and told them about Mokuba. Everything about Mokuba, he probably talked to them for an hour at least, answering questions, remembering stories and games they played together. After he'd talked so much his throat started to hurt, he realized he was comfortable. The cold now came from outside and Yuugi and Mahado seemed pleased to know him better. Kaiba wasn't happy about the situation he was in but at least it killed some time in their travels

Yuugi smiled knowingly at him, and there was Atem's face again, followed by his deep voice. "Feeling better?"

Kaiba knew it was just his mind playing tricks on him, but he welcomed it none the less. "Yes."

Mahado started to speak when a loud shriek from the forest pulled their attention to it. Unfortunately, the shriek wasn't what they should have been concerned about. The loud thud from the front of the carriage of the driver falling from his seat and being pulled under the carriage made Kaiba's adrenaline kick into overdrive. Mahado, on the other hand, seemed far too calm. "We're being attacked...Probably by bandits. Get ready to fight."

"Where are you going?!" Yuugi reached out to grab a hold of Mahado's cape before he could climb out of the carriage door.

"I have to grab the reigns." Mahado stated matter of factly, making Kaiba think that situations like this tended to happen to him a lot. "They are probably planning an ambush further down the road and it will be much easier with a driver to avoid their snare."

"Okay..." Yuugi let go of his cape and Mahado quickly climbed out of the moving carriage to collect the reigns.

Kaiba looked out of the carriage windows out into the forest but couldn't see much of anything past the first few trees. If this was the work of that feathered vermin, he'd use that putrid beak mask to beat him to death when he got a hold of him. Mahado managed to grab the reins and take back control of the carriage in no time, but that didn't mean they were in the clear. "Hold on tight...there's only one way through this!"

Both he and Yuugi held onto the carriage, Kaiba's arm wrapped around Yuugi to keep the smaller man from flying around. He braced himself for whatever Mahado planned to do, panicking slightly over the unknown problems that ran through his mind. The wait wasn't long and soon he could feel the carriage tilt and saw the horses move into the view of the widow. He was planning to slam the carriage into something...this was a horrible plan. Before Kaiba could protest the carriage tipped and slid across the dirt road before hitting something, coming to an abrupt halt. Kaiba had to take a few breaths to calm his nerves, Yuugi, on the other hand, didn't need the break. He jumped up out of Kaiba's shaking arms and climbed onto the side, now top, of the carriage. When Kaiba followed after him he saw the group of bandits jumping out from the road side to attack the carriage. Yuugi drew his sword and jumped off of the carriage to attack one of the bandits and Kaiba quickly climbed out since there was now room. Once standing tall on top of the carriage side, Kaiba drew his sword. The fight went by like a blur. He barely registered the sounds of metal on metal and the loud beating of his own heart in his ears. Kaiba fought and killed two of the men before a loud shout from one of the masked bandits demanded his attention. "Drop your weapons or he dies!"

Kaiba paused after kicking back an attacker. The bandit had Yuugi on the ground with a sword at his throat. Mahado had stopped fighting not far from him, standing perfectly still and glancing over to Kaiba for direction. He couldn't let them kill Yuugi. Atem would never forgive him for letting his brother die. A quick thought back to his own brother made solidified the fact that he'd never forgive himself. Dropping his sword, Mahado followed with a sigh of defeat. Swiftly the bandits took a hold of them, tying their arms behind their backs before lead them away.

The darkness of a starless night sky loomed over the three prisoners while they waited for the bandits to decide their fate. Kaiba's did not look good. Both princes' were perfect for ransom but he was just a peasant, a no one in their eyes. Not only had he lost that beautiful, jewel encrusted sword the dragon's found for him to filthy heathens but he was going to die before he could even see the North Castle again. The three were chained to a large stone, their backs leaned against it but Kaiba could still see Yuugi and Mahado's knee when he turned to the side. They whispered to each other while Kaiba remained quiet, lost in thoughts of how he'd failed Atem, when a young woman approached them with bread. Two small stale loaves of bread...yeah he was going to die.

The woman walked around them and knelt down; out of Kaiba's peripherals but he still knew she was kneeling in front of Mahado. She didn't say anything and Kaiba assumed that was because she was busy; considering he could hear her wrestling with the stale bread. When she finally did speak she sounded kind and sympathetic, maybe even a little scared. Not at all what he'd expected. "You should eat this...there is a storm coming so they won't be able to ransom you until it passes...this may be your only time to eat in days."

Mahado didn't respond and the woman didn't leave so Kaiba assumed he didn't react in an aggressive mannor...like he probably would have. It was probably a good thing she didn't have bread for him. Kaiba closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the stone pillar when Mahado said something none of them were expecting. "Thank you, Princess Mana."

"E-excuse me?" The young woman's voice shook, but Kaiba couldn't tell if it was out of fear or surprise.

"You are Princess Mana, are you not?" Mahado responded, the chains rattled a little indicating that Mahado had moved a little. How ever far he could move, Kaiba supposed. "Do you not recognize me?"

The young woman was quiet for a while, but Mahado was a patient man. Kaiba knew that from being at the Southern castle. "How would you know...if I was this Princess or not?"

"Well..." Any hope Kaiba had of Mahado talking this girl into letting them go just dropped 50% at the hesitation. "You look like her."

"A princess does not look like a poor girl running around a bandit camp covered in dirt and begging for food." The woman responded, her chipper tone gone completely. "I do not resemble her or I would have been rescued long ago."

"To a passer by, or maybe even one of her knights, I doubt that they'd recognize you, but I do. You're eyes match your sisters except when you look very close you can see a ring of turquoise at their center. And your nose is exactly how I remember it...The last time I kissed it." Mahado paused for her to respond and when she didn't he continued. "If you really want to know how I am so certain it is you...that scar on your left wrist. You got that from me when I tried to play a joke on you while we were horseback riding. You were riding slowly with your sister and I thought it would be a good idea to try and scare you. I ended up spooking your horse and your bracelet caught on my horse's saddle...I am still so sorry about that."

Kaiba's eyes opened, renewed with hope when the woman began to cry. "You already apologized for four years, Mahad, my love...you don't need to apologize anymore."

"Mana?! It really is you?" Yuugi whispered harshly from the other side of Kaiba. "Tea will be so happy to hear that you are alive."

"Yeah...the bandits that captured me left me for dead and this group found me wandering around and took me in. They are...just as ghastly as the last bunch but...I'm alive."

Kaiba couldn't wait anymore. He knew that this was supposed to be a touching reunion but honestly their lives were more important right now. "Release us then. We have to go to the North Kingdom and destroy the Snow Queen."

"The Snow Queen? Are you serious?" Mana giggled before quickly covering her mouth. "Oh gods you are serious."

"Princess, we have to kill the Snow Queen. She's destroyed your kingdom and she's about to destroy the West as well. We need your help." Mahado begged her. "Please release us. We can protect you and take you home."

Mana was silent again. They didn't have time for this. "We need you to make up your mind now. Are you going to let us die here or are you going to help us? We don't have time to waste."

Yuugi sighed or huffed, Kaiba wasn't sure judging by how he was facing towards Mahado at that moment. Mana stayed silent again and Kaiba was almost at the end of his patience when a familiar voice pulled his attention straight ahead. "Now this is a good look for you Kaiba. I'd prefer bound and gagged though. Obviously these bandits haven't gotten a hold of you for long."

Kaiba was caught somewhere between being elated and livid when Joey removed the back feathered crow mask up to reveal his trademark grin. "I swear once I get out of here and get Atem back I'm going to shove that mask so far up your-"

"Now now now...is that any way to talk to your knight in shining armor come to save the day?" Joey chuckled and knelt in front of Kaiba immediately beginning to pick the lock to their joining chains.

Yuugi, Mahado and Mana all tried to see this new man that had just appeared there with out warning. Mana tiptoed over to Joey and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, momentarily stopping him from picking the lock. Joey was quick though, he immediately pulled himself back to the lock to continue while she talked to him. "Crow! It's so good to see you again."

"Crow? You mean The Crow? The notorious thief that's been plaguing the Western kingdom?" Yuugi whispered in awe. "You know him Kaiba?"

"Friend of the family." Kaiba muttered bitterly.

"Awww you do care." Joey winked up at him just when the lock clicked open. "There ya go. Now let's get out of here before those bastards notice."

Kaiba allowed Joey to help him out of the chains and quickly started to help Yuugi out of them as well. Joey moved over to help Mahado. "So, Dark. The offer still stands ya know. Now's a great chance to leave."

Kaiba glanced over at Joey and Princess Mana. The girl looked at the bandit camp and then back to Mahado before smiling at Joey. "Yes. Now is the time to go...but sorry Crow. I'm needed at home."

Joey stood shortly after pulling Mahado free and pulled his mask down over his face. "Well we better get out of here quick. Do you know anywhere safe around here Mana?"

"The wizard's shack is about two hours from here. It's the closest and safest by far. He's been teaching me a thing or two and said to come by whenever I need him." Mana whispered pulling at Mahado's arm towards the forest.

"Lead the way, Princess." Mana beamed at the pride in Mahado's voice.

They talked the whole fucking way...the entire hike in the snow. For two hours straight and then some because Princess Mana got lost for a moment and had to turn around. Two hours of hearing Joey's voice put Kaiba in a really really bad mood and his growling stomach didn't make it any better. He followed a little behind them after snapping at them twice to no avail. Joey had pushed him back and told him to chill out. He still wanted to beat him with that mask. Thinking about it while they walked had a therapeutic quality, taking off the edge of his frustration. Just enough to appreciate Princess Mana's giggling shout. "There it is! See I told you he was this way."

Mahaado shook his head while Joey and Yuugi chuckled. All Kaiba could think about was the prospect of food and warmth. They made their way through the forest to the small cottage maybe a couple hundred feet from them. Smoke billowed out of the chimney and Kaiba could smell fresh baked bread and roasted meat. Princess Mana jumped up onto the front stoop and raised her arm to knock when the door swung open, revealing a short old man smiling brightly. "It's about time you all showed up, your majesty's. Come in, please, before the stew gets cold."

None of them needed to be told twice and Mahaado and Joey followed in immediately after Princess Mana. Yuugi and Kaiba followed into the shack to find the inside lavishly decorated in silks and gold. The old man dressed in common clothes despite all of the luxury around him with a golden medallion around his neck. The medallion held what appeared to be a family crest and although Kaiba had no clue where he'd seen it, it was oddly familiar. Yuugi turned to Kaiba, leaning in close to whisper after they sat down at a long, well set dining table. "I recognize that symbol. If I'm not mistaken...this is the sorcerer who was supposedly killed by the Snow Queen...the one who taught her magic. Soloman the Scrupulous."

"Also known as Soloman the stubby." Joey snickered quietly from across the table when a broom came out of nowhere and hit him upside the head. "Ouch!"

"I heard that, Crow." The old man growled haughtily.

Kaiba and Yuugi both snickered at Joey still rubbing the back of his head. Mahaado sat next to Princess Mana and stared at the old man with curiosity. "So is that true? You are the Sorceror who taught the Snow Queen?"

"I...uh...well..."

The old man sat at the head of the table. A flick of his wrist and food floated through the air and filled their bowls with stew, their glasses with wine, and a slice of bread came to rest on a small plate next to the bowls. Kaiba glanced up to see Joey's eyes widened in wonder. He'd probably never seen this much food in one place in his life. Even Princess Mana smacked her lips eager to dive in.

"Let's eat first, before the stew gets colder than it has already." The old man chuckled. "Then I'll answer all of your questions."

Princess Mana and Joey didn't even take a second of hesitation before spouting a quick 'ya' and diving into their food. Kaiba wasn't sure whether to trust the food placed before them or not, and watched Joey shovel the food in his mouth with disgust. Satisfied that when Joey did come up for air after his third helping, he didn't complain of a bad taste or fall down dead, he picked up his spoon to began to eat. Yuugi must have been thinking the same thing because he started to eat around the same time. Kaiba was famished so he contributed that to how decadent the stew, bread and wine tasted. If he didn't know better he'd swear it was the best food he'd ever had in his entire life. He must have had better when he was a child, though he couldn't quite remember. Joey and Princess Mana both leaned back in their chairs, hands on their full stomachs. Mahaado finished as well, having eaten with Princess Mana, and leaned back to examine the room more closely.

Kaiba and Yuugi were on their lasts bites when the old man started talking. "I'm sure you are all very tired. Do you want to have this conversation now? It's the middle of the night."

"We can't stay here, if that's what you're asking." Kaiba stated before taking a sip of wine.

"It's the middle of the night, Seto. We can't stay expect to be of much use against anyone, bandits or the queen, without any sleep." Yuugi pointed out setting his spoon on the table. "I know you want to find Atem. I do to."

Kaiba leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. Yuugi had a point, but he still felt like they could be doing more. The old man cleared his throat and nodded in understanding. "Atem? I take it you mean Prince Atem of West?"

"Yes...My brother is being held captive at the north castle by the Snow Queen." Yuugi replied politely.

Kaiba bit the inside of his cheek in an attempt to keep from saying something snide. "He's been there for almost a month... we need to move faster than this. We can't afford any more delays."

"Seto right? King Seto of North. It's about time you were pulled out of hiding. Interesting reason to leave the south though. I had expected it to be out of desire for your kingdom back, ambition to not be a peasant and have your birthright. Why so much fuss over a criminal?"

Kaiba didn't like what that old man was insinuating at all. He didn't care how who the hell the old man was or may be, nor did he care how powerful he was. No one spoke to him like that. Not any more. "First of all, he's not a just some common criminal. I don't know or care what he did in his past. He's the only one who's ever treated me with respect no matter what I've done. Why would I go out of my way to fight the Snow Queen when all three surrounding Kingdoms didn't bother to help my father when she attacked the first time? Let it all be covered in Ice. I don't care."

"And if the Queen decides to give him to you in exchange for you both to leave never to be seen again?"

"I'm never that lucky."

Joey whistled and stretched his arms behind his head. "We seriously need to teach ya some people skills."

"I don't need 'people' skills. I have a job to do. I'm not here to save the world." Kaiba spat.

"You'd abandon your duties even now, now that you know they are desperately needed? The entire world will be covered in ice do you think you'll be able to get away?" Mahaado sat up glaring daggers at Kaiba.

"You are coming with me to save your kingdom, not save Atem." Kaiba responded coldly. "Why do you expect me to save your kingdom when I'm only doing this for him."

"Damn I need to get me some better friends." Joey laughed while Kaiba glared at him, feeling his face heating up.

Yuugi's soft chuckle from his side made him swiftly turn to glare at the young man. "I'm sorry Seto...I shouldn't have laughed."

"What are you here for?" Kaiba demanded. "I get why he's here, but you have Tea back home. Why defy your father and leave her?"

Yuugi cleared his throat and looked down at his folded hands. "Atem's my brother. No matter what he does I'll always love him. I never agreed with my father's decision to send him away, just like I did not agree when he refused to fight to save the people of the North. Your father was the only one who actually offered to help but the King of the North refused his help. I suppose I'm the only one here to do the right thing. " Yuugi looked around the table at everyone accusingly. "Save my brother and destroy the Queen to restore peace and protect my kingdom. Right my father's wrongs."

Mahaado, Joey and Princess Mana looked down, feeling guilty for whatever reason Kaiba couldn't begin to fathom. The old man hummed in thought. "I, too, am here for selfish reasons. You were right, Prince of West, I am Soloman the Scrupulous. I did teach the queen magic...at the request of the king in fact. Your grandfather, Seto."

Kaiba breathed out loudly through his nose in frustration. He didn't care what his grandfather had done. What did this have to do with anything? What was done, was done. Soloman didn't seem to notice Kaiba's reaction and continued sadly. "The story goes she became a talented pupil and tricked me into taking the amulet for reasons to take over and destroy the human race, allowing dragon's to rule solely again. The truth is far from that."

Raising a brow in confusion, Kaiba remembered Kisara telling him that same story, but she had been there. Why would she lie? "I was a much younger man then. The king had me teach her magic in secret. He hoped that it would help her see that our kingdom was there to accept the dragons as equals, not fight or trick them. The dragons didn't practice magic and that was a very big deal for her to be the first. She was incredible at it and I started to take her on expeditions with me into the north mountain caves since she knew them better than any human or dragon alike in the kingdom. We found all of these things that you see before you now in those underground kingdoms filled with lavish decorations and strange artifacts. I did love her company so.

"The last place we went to was an underground frozen palace. In the center of the palace sat an ice sculpture of a man, a king on an elaborately sculpted icy throne, with a grand blue and white diamond necklace around his neck and an icy crown. We took the crown and the necklace back to the castle. From the moment I touched that necklace I regretted it. It held a great power of evil within it. I hid it within my chambers to keep it's evil contained and out of sticky fingers, but I never thought that she would have been the one to take it."

"She was your friend?" Princess Mana asked softly.

"Yes. She was a very good friend. I truly thought I had changed her mind and I still believe I did, but that evil necklace warped her mind and played on her fears. It gave her unmarked power and rekindled her hatred, hardening her heart to ice. I was there when she placed the necklace around her neck and told me of her plans. She wanted me to attack the castle, kill my friend for her but...I could not."

"But she didn't kill you." Kaiba raised a questioning brow even though what he said was a statement and not a question.

"She tried and I managed to escape. I guess...when she confronted the king she told him that false story about my death when she realized I had not betrayed her."

Kaiba scoffed. "You could have stopped her. You could have warned my father."

"Warned him of what? She sent blizzards and armies of ice long before she herself stepped foot into that castle. He knew the danger, he knew how much power she held. My regret is not destroying that blasted thing or leaving it to it's icy fate."

Yuugi nodded his head in understanding. "Destroying the necklace would balance her power, make her human."

"Dragon." Kaiba reiterated and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oh yeah...dragon...that's not really evening the playing field." Yuugi's voice gave away his weak smile, trying to make light of the dreadful situation.

"I do have good news though."

"We could use some right now old sorcerer." Mahaado sighed.

The old man stood up from the table and hobbled over to a large armoire. He opened the doors to reveal 12 swords displayed within. He chose the least decorated of them and brought it over to the table. he snapped his fingers and the table was cleared. Throwing the sword on the now empty table in front of them, Soloman stared blankly at it before muttering. "This is the answer."

"A rusty old sword...Have ya lost your mind old man? Soloman the stubby was supposed to be referring to ya height not here." Joey snickered and tapped his temple.

"Don't be disrespectful, Crow. It's magic isn't it?" Princess Mana offered.

"Of course it is...except I've never been able to work it. It's a sword dipped in dragon blood."

"Just like the mirror in the Kingdom of West!" Yuugi sat up talk and beamed. "Seto! You can work the sword then."

"Heh...assuming the old man isn't crazy...or working with the witch." Kaiba reached out and took ahold of the sword. "It doesn't feel like the mirror."

"You shouldn't have done that Kaiba. Enchanted items are not to be taken lightly." Mahaado scolded but all Kaiba did in response was glance up at him challengingly.

"Not to worry Prince Mahaado. This sword has to be used a specific way, by a specific person." Soloman snapped his fingers again and the room changed.

Kaiba blinked and suddenly he stood in a large room with several bunked cots made up and inviting. The sword in his hand and the chair he had sat on had disappeared as well. Until he saw the beds he hadn't realized just how tired he really was. "We will discuss it in the morning. Please rest. Like you said earlier, Prince Yuugi. You all are not going to be much good falling asleep on your feet."

He wanted to fight about it, resist it and leave. He still felt like he was responsible for part of Atem's pain at this point. He knew what was happening now and still he slept. Why was he allowed to sleep peacefully in a warm bed when Atem was not? The foreboding feeling didn't even slow his ability to sleep however. His head hit the pillow and light ceased to exist.

Three days. Kaiba was stuck in that little shack for three days. When they woke up that first morning, they found they'd been snowed in. If it were just a few feet, he would have made everyone deal with it, but the snow came up to the top of the front door. Then it continued to snow for two days straight, making it impossible to even think about leaving. The third day Kaiba paced near the dining table glancing at the plain metal sword with as much hatred and disdain as he could muster. He needed something to blame for failing to get to Atem. Unfortunately the only thing he could blame was himself. The weather really sounded more like an excuse. Controlled by an evil witch or not, it was only an excuse.

"Pick up the sword. You've been staring at it for hours like it's gonna jump up and bite you." Joey chuckled from behind him.

Kaiba glanced over his shoulder at Joey fleetingly before continuing to stare at the sword. "I don't touch things that are not mine, unlike you."

Yuugi came up the stairs from the lower floor and walked to the front door to open it. Soloman had impressed Kaiba with only one thing about his magic; the many levels and rooms below the old shack. With a snap of his fingers or a flick of his wrist all of them transported to which ever room the old man pleased. Soloman had to put a staircase in the room below leading to the shack's main room only because they were unable to do magic and move from room to room. Unfortunately for Kaiba, it took Soloman six hours of them waiting, starving, and panicking before Princess Mana and Mahaado managed to figure out a spell to get them out. Kaiba was still weary of the old man and that didn't help.

Kaiba watched Yuugi open the door with great interest, expecting a pile of snow just as it was the day before. Today, that Snow fell in on top of Yuugi the instant the door was unlatched, making Joey burst into laughter. Yuugi lay on the floor covered in snow but Kaiba didn't find it nearly as uplifting as the sunlight that poured into the doorway. They were free! Jumping over the dining room table to get to the doorway, Kaiba looked outside at the sun glistening off of the snow that covered the ground, at least four feet of snow, but not impossible to get through. Maybe the old wizard had something to help them. Glancing down at Yuugi's hand, the only thing above the pile of, Kaiba reached down and pulled him up easily. Yuugi was far too light. "Get up. We need to wake the old jester so we can leave."

Yuugi mumbled a shaky, "Good idea." before Joey walked over to them with a blanket. Kaiba left the two to clean up the mess while he practically ran down the stairs to the bed chambers. When he only saw Princess Mana and Mahaado asleep in their cots, he became concerned. Just when he decided to give up and go back upstairs, he saw a door in the corner of the room he'd never seen before. Cautiously Kaiba approached the door and pushed it open slowly. Inside, Soloman the Scrupulous stood hovering around an old book muttering something to himself dressed in elegant wizard's robes. When Kaiba cleared his throat to get his attention, Soloman looked up at him and smiled.

"The storm passed? Good. Now we need to get that sword working." He clapped his hands together and suddenly everyone appeared in the room. "Now that we are all here, let's get started."

Kaiba blinked in surprise, not really knowing what to do, when the old man charged towards him and grabbed ahold of his shirt collar, yanking him into the room. The door disappeared behind him, leaving Kaiba feeling trapped again. Princess Mana stretched and rubbed her eyes, obviously just waking up, while Joey and Yuugi sat next to each other, still laughing about the snow falling on Yuugi. Mahaado stood next to Mana, very interested in what was transpiring. Kaiba was interested too. What the hell was going on?

Soloman waved his hand in the air and the dull sword appeared in it. "Have you tried out the sword? Felt it in your hands?"

Kaiba scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's nothing special, just a piece of poorly crafted steel. Why would I have interest in it enough to pick it up?"

Soloman chuckled and tossed the sword at him, leaving him no choice but to either dodge it or grab at it. Kaiba stood close enough to Soloman to be able to grab the swords handle easily, but he still seethed at how careless the old man was. This time the sword felt different in his hand. The metal of the handle felt like a continuation of his own hand, warmed up to his exact body temperature and fitted to his grip. The metal blade changed material before his eyes, no longer poorly crafted steel. Instead it became white and appeared to be the same pearly white as Kisara's scales. So it was enchanted.

"Well..." Yuugi started with an innocent shrug of his shoulders. "It's pretty but...What does it do?"

Soloman began to fidget and flip through the large book. "You see uh...I uh...I don't know."

Kaiba pursed his lips. Looking down at the sword, he decided that it really didn't matter if it could do anything or not. If it was made of Kisara's scales it would cut through anything. That was good enough for him. "Swords are meant to cut down. It can do that now and the storm passed us. We can't afford any more delays."

The old man grabbed ahold of the book snapped his fingers. They found themselves outside, then. The shack was nowhere to be seen, but Kaiba recognized the clearing as the one they found it in. Yuugi and Mahaado spun around looking for the shack too when Soloman began to laugh. "It is not safe here any longer. I must be going."

Kaiba turned to the old man. His laughter echoed off of the trees and snow, a large sack in one hand and the book in other. Mahaado, Mana and Yuugi all bowed respectfully to him. Yuugi smiled warmly. "Thank you for everything."

"Don't thank me just yet. Seto still has to work that sword." Soloman chuckled dryly and turned to walk in the opposite direction of the North Castle. "Good luck, my King."

Not long after the old man disappeared into the forest, Kaiba began walking in the direction of the castle. Soon he heard footsteps behind him and a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Kaiba, wait up for us. Mana's still half asleep."

Kaiba continued to walk unaffected. "Go home Crow. Take the other's with you."

"I'm not leavin'. You can't fight the Snow Queen all by ya self and I don't care how much in love with the guy ya are...you know that's a dumb idea."

Kaiba glared at him. If looks could kill, Joey would have been dead a week ago, but this glare was different. Joey's reaction was different. His eyes widened and he faltered for a moment leaving Kaiba's field of vision. Thanking the gods for small miracles, Kaiba continued to walk until Joey flew into his vision again. "How did you do that?!"

"GO home Crow!"

"You're eyes! They are still doing it! Are you really that pissed?" Joey walked backwards with grace and skill that Kaiba would have admired if he wasn't trying to keep himself from cutting his head off. "The sword! Look at it! It's glowin' just like ya eyes are!"

At this point, Kaiba had enough. Reaching out with his left hand, he grabbed a hold of Joey's arm and pulled him out of his way. In that action, the sword blade had lifted up with Kaiba's right arm a little to balance himself. Coming to an abrupt halt, still gripping Joey's arm, Kaiba gapped at the sword in shock. It was on fire! Blue fire! Just like the blasts of fire Kisara had breathed to attack the ice dragon. Two blinks of shock later and the sword went back to normal.

"Alright... Don't get on your bad side while you have that blade in your hand. Got it." Mahaado commented from behind them.

"Fire will definitely help against the Snow Queen." Yuugi murmured and rounded Kaiba's side to get a better look at the blade. "We'd better hurry. It's still far away. Don't worry, Seto. We won't slow you down I promise you."

Kaiba gave Yuugi a curt nod and continued walking.

By nightfall, Mahaado had Princess Mana on his back while she slept and Yuugi slowed his pace to walk alongside Mahaado. Joey walked ahead of Kaiba after the sun set and then disappeared entirely to scout ahead. It was now well into the night and Joey had steered them around a two ice dragons and some other of the Queen's frozen minions before disappearing into the darkness again. Thinking of having Atem back home, safe and away from everything, gave him renewed energy and determination. The castle stood only 100 feet or so away and Kaiba had his second wind. Crouching down and signaling to Mahaado and Yuugi to stop, he watched through the trees as two enormous frost trolls lumbered around the castle gate; large blades of ice in their hands. Not long after they had stopped Joey appeared out of the darkness next to him, his crow mask still lowered. "What's the plan, Kaiba?"

"We need to distract them...get them away from the gates." Kaiba squinted, trying to get a better pattern of their movements.

Joey was way ahead of him though. "They don't leave that spot. Too stupid to disobey orders. Trolls..."

"I might be able to do a light spell and spook them." Princess Mana offered quietly but still just as chipper as ever.

"And show them exactly where we are..." Mahaado chuckled but shook his head. "No it would be best to lure them away with live bait."

"Live bait meaning...us?" Yuugi pointed to himself with a sigh of disbelief. "Well...alright. If it's the only way."

"Sorry Yug...It's lookin' like it..." Joey trailed off and tilted his head slightly to the side making Kaiba wonder what on earth he was doing.

He got his answer when the Crow darted into the trees at the same time as a Ice dragon flew in, landing in front of the trolls. Yuugi snuck up next to Kaiba, brushing his shoulder to get a better look. "Maybe we should wait until the dragon leaves?"

Kaiba was about to agree when they saw a dark figure in a black crow mask jump onto the back of the ice dragon. "He's a fucking idiot..."

The dragon reared back and roared, spewing ice everywhere while Joey clung to it desperately. Kaiba heard Yuugi and the others say something about going out to help Joey but he just kneeled there and watched. Let the idiot get himself killed.

"The trolls are moving away from the gates. Go, Sire! We'll be right behind you." Yuugi pulled at Kaiba to stand before letting go to run towards the trolls, drawing his sword.

Mahaado and Princess Mana ran after him ready to help and Kaiba wondered if this was the best course of action. Not one to turn away an opportunity, he shot to his feet, swiftly weaving through the trees to the castle gate. The trolls were both now engaged in a fierce battle with Yuugi and Mahaado. Princess Mana had managed to somehow climb onto the back of the dragon to help Joey. As Kaiba speed through the now unguarded castle gates the only thing he could think of was how easy that was to get inside.


	5. Chapter 5 Thaw

Thaw

A period of warmer weather that melts ice and snow

Once inside, he had to be extremely cautious. Not only because of getting caught but because of the slick floor. Everything was encased in ice, the floors, ceiling, walls, tapestries, statues...everything. Kaiba stared in awe at the ice that encased everything. The castle was badly damaged, he assumed from when the Queen had attacked it and taken over. The stone from the walls and ceiling were visible behind the ice and so were the large holes that the ice now covered. What was even more curious was how quiet the castle was. Not a sound or a single movement could be noted while Kaiba made his way through the familiar halls to the throne room. The doors were frozen open, revealing another empty soundless room. The ice covered throne sat in front of a large ice sculpture of a dragon. It loomed over the throne ready to attack all who opposed who sat there. Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the sculpture. This dragon looked familiar too. An Ice sculpture of a dragon he'd seen before. The ceiling of the throne room had been completely destroyed. The stone barely reached to Kaiba's height. The rest was made up solely of ice. Searching the rest of the room, he saw a small frost covered mass a few feet from the throne and dragon. It didn't move or really look like anything of importance. Kaiba almost missed it as he scanned the room. He stepped softly, gripping his sword as tight as he could, ready for anything as he approached the strange pile of frost.

Suddenly the mass moved and a frost covered, light blue hand reached out to take ahold of a small piece of ice in front of it. Kaiba couldn't breath. It had to be Atem. A few more steps and Kaiba looked down at Atem. He laid on his side, his back to the front of the throne room and his attention seemed to be focused on an intricate puzzle of ice in his hands. He placed a piece inside of the icy puzzle before setting it down in front of himself slowly. Staring at it with dull eyes. He didn't wear a coat and the frost covered him from head to toe. His skin was a strange blue just like his hand making him appear dead. In fact, Kaiba couldn't see Atem's breath. If it weren't for him moving just then, Kaiba would be sure he was dead. "Atem."

Atem didn't move, instead he furrowed his brow. Kneeling down next to him, Kaiba set his sword down to gently place his hand on Atem's shoulder. He still didn't move. "It's time to go. Where is the Snow Queen?"

Barely a whisper, almost so soft that Kaiba couldn't hear it Atem tried to talk. "C-can't leave."

Kaiba was about to ask why when he saw a chain of linked ice from Atem's wrists and neck leading to the throne. He'd forgotten about the icy shackles he'd seen in the mirror, or perhaps he didn't want to believe they were really there. Kaiba grabbed his sword and channeled all of his anger into it. The sword lit up in flames and he swung it down on the chain of ice. Nothing happened. Now frustrated, he let the flaming sword sit on to of the icy chain. Still nothing. What was he doing wrong?

Kaiba let the chain fall back on to the ground and watched Atem try to pick up the puzzle of ice again. This time, it slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground rolling over to Kaiba's foot. He bent down and picked it up, examining it more closely. The puzzle was in the shape of a heart, but it was only half finished. The remainder of the pieces were scattered around Atem. There had to be an explanation for this. Atem sat up slowly and reached out for the puzzle back. Not saying a word still. When Kaiba handed it back, he held on to it a little longer. Atem didn't look at him, his eyes eerily transfixed on the frozen heart puzzle. Why wouldn't he talk to him? Gently brushing Atem's stiff bangs from his face, Kaiba sighed. "Please talk to me."

Still Atem said nothing and continued trying to put the puzzle together while Kaiba watched on. Unfortunately, the cold had gotten to Atem's hands. Once he slid a piece of ice into the puzzle, he couldn't hold onto it any longer and it toppled onto the icy floor shattering. Kaiba frowned the sadness in Atem's dull eyes before they clouded over more with frost. He barely had enough time to register what was going on before Atem collapsed forward onto Kaiba's chest. He wrapped his arms around Atem and pulled him closer, leaning his head down to try and feel any breath coming from his lips. Instead of feeling breath he heard Atem whisper, "I want to go home."

Kaiba lifted his head, gazing down at the face of the friend he had searched for for so long. Although he was looking directly at Kaiba, there was no recognition. Atem had forgotten him and now he just looked defeated and lost. Did he even know his own name? Kaiba tried to think of something, anything he could do to break the chain. Maybe that's what Atem was doing...putting that puzzle together to break the spell she had over him. Now Kaiba would never know and...Atem could never leave. He heard a dragon's roar from outside the castle, and then another answering it. It would only be a matter of time before the queen came back and now there were going to be two ice dragons to fight. The fact that the one dragon was still alive probably meant that Yuugi and the others were dead. He'd come all this way...

Resting his forehead against Atem's, Kaiba tried to keep himself together. "I wanted to bring you home...and keep you safe. I wanted you to stay with me..."

His words were met with silence and the cold started to tear at him again. He could feel the frost from Atem's body moving over to his, ready to consume them both in ice. The more he thought about it, the more he resigned to that fact. At least he'd have what he wanted...at least he'd be with Atem. Mokuba was safe with Kisara. He was always better off without him. Maybe Atem was better off without him too. Kaiba lifted his head slightly and flinched when he saw the pattern of frost on his own fingertips. It wouldn't be long until he was just like Atem, incoherent from the cold and whatever other black magic that witch had cast. A soft smile on his lips and his hand resting lightly on Atem's heart, Kaiba leaned down and gave him a final kiss.

His lips were cold as ice, and his breath even colder, but Kaiba wasn't thinking about the cold. He was thinking about pulling apple peels out of Atem and Mokuba's hair every friday. Switching him chores that Atem particularly hated so that he would have a better day. Atem pulling clothes out of the tub of soapy water to show him because Atem loved them so much. Kaiba desperately wished that they were back in their room at the South Castle. Laying on that damn pile of rags he hated so much, staring into the fire while Atem and Mokuba slept on each side of him. He hated it there, but now he couldn't think of a better home. He couldn't think of the last time he'd felt like home, but now, looking back, that was it.

Atem's lips didn't feel cold against his anymore, probably because he was too cold to feel anything anymore. The dragon's roared again outside, making him lift his head to see if the Snow Queen had returned. Staring at the empty throne room doorway for a while, he assumed otherwise and looked back down at Atem. His brow furrowed in confusion when he looked at Atem's face. His lips were free of frost, retaining their natural color. A quick glance at his hand over Atem's heart and he realized that the fabric under his hand was soft, not stiff from frost like it had been earlier, and the frost on his fingers had disappeared. What was going on?

Filled with the same anxiety that he felt when the ice dragon chased after him and Mokuba not so long ago, Kaiba shakily leaned down and kissed Atem's cheek. Thinking about what it would be like to have Atem back. All the things he would say to him, all the things he would change and all the things he'd say he would change that both of them knew wouldn't. When he leaned back up to examine Atem's cheek where he'd kissed him, he let out a short laugh of excitement. The frost was gone from his cheek too. His vision blurred, but that didn't stop him from kissing every inch of Atem's face; over his cheeks, along his jaw and across his forehead. He rested a final kiss on the bridge of Atem's nose when he felt something take ahold of his hand. His breath caught in his throat as he moved away to see Atem smiling up at him, his eyes clear, bright, and full of emotion. "Kaiba?"

He wanted to say something like, 'who else would go through all of this shit for you?' Instead he leaned down and captured Atem's lips in another kiss; overjoyed when Atem kissed him back. Everything disappeared for a moment. The icy castle around them, the dragon's and Snow Queen just outside the door, the inevitable battle that was looming over their heads, it all disappeared and Kaiba had never felt warmer. In fact he was hot, hot enough to want to take his winter coat off. The roar of a dragon, a familiar dragon, forced Kaiba to break their kiss and allow the real world to flood back in again. Atem looked towards the throne room doors, trying to sit up on his own but seemed too weak. Kaiba braced his back with his left hand, circling his arms around Atem as he tried to collect the shattered pieces of the icy puzzle again. "It's broken..."

"Why is it important?" Kaiba whispered resting his chin on Atem's shoulder, feeling the cold shackle of ice from around Atem's neck against his face.

"It's a spell...If I can put the puzzle back together I can leave."

Kaiba straightened up and examined the shattered puzzle more closely, there was no way to put it back together without melting it and merging the pieces...melting it...wait. "What was the spell exactly? What did she say?"

"She uh...I don't really remember...I think she said 'if i can put these pieces of ice into the shape of a heart I'll be released from her power.' But it's a puzzle...these pieces are shattered...I can't put them back together." Atem's voice faded into the despair he felt and Kaiba tightened his grip around him. "It's probably better this way...Please go Kaiba. She'll be back any minute."

"I've been looking for you for over a month, I'm not leaving without you."

"It's a lost cause Kaiba, I-I'm a lost cause. You need to leave. Go. Mokuba needs you."

"I lost 7 turns ago." Kaiba smiled taking Atem's hand in his and pressing their palms onto the icy floor. "Because of you, I'm still playing to the end."

Atem gasped as their hands lit up in blue fire, melting the icy layer on the castle floor. Kaiba huffed in amusement at Atem's reaction and used their hands to trace the shape of a heart on the floor. He then scooped up all of the shattered pieces into their hands and let them melt, dripping into the indentation of the heart shape on the floor. Once all the pieces were melted into a heart shaped pool on the floor, it began to glow. Just like the Atem had said, the icy shackles and chain began to melt, but Kaiba noticed that Atem's shackles weren't the only things melting. The stone cold silence from within the castle was replaced by the sound of dripping water. Kaiba looked around the castle ceiling, smirking as the ice began to melt everywhere.

"What's going on?" Atem whispered, looking up at the ceiling with Kaiba. "Is she dead?"

"No." Kaiba started, noticing Atem shiver. "The royal family has returned."

He took his coat off to give to Atem, happy to have the heavy thing off of his back. Once he draped it over Atem's shoulders, he noticed Atem refusing to look him in the eyes when he murmured a thank you. He was surprised, and annoyed, by Atem's continued hesitation. What was he not getting? Kaiba loved him. Wasn't that kiss enough proof to him?

"That makes sense...melting the puzzle, freeing me...you are the Dragon King. I should have known earlier..." Atem stared down at the heart shaped puddle as the rest of the floor began to melt and it lost it's shape.

"Is that a problem?"

Atem shook his head but he still refused to look up. Kaiba frowned at him, gently taking ahold of Atem's face and making him look at him. "Then what is the problem?"

"I told you before Kaiba. You don't know me." Atem placed his hand over Kaiba's screwing his eyes shut. "I'm not a good person, I've..."

"I know Atem."

"What?" Atem opened his eyes, his expression somewhere between hopeful and terrified.

"I met your brother while looking for you, and your father. They told me about what happened.

"But then...why Kaiba? Why still save me?"

Kaiba shifted to sitting in front of him, readjusting the coat on Atem's shoulders before gripping them firmly. "My name's not Kaiba, it's Seto and I've spent my life in the South Castle, knowing who I was and what was happening to my kingdom. I knew people were dying but I didn't care. I was angry for being left there, when I see now that it was the only way. I'm not the one to tell you if you are a good person or a bad person. Even if you were it doesn't matter...I'm in love with you regardless."

Atem's lips pulled into a sheepish smile and if he didn't know better, he'd swear Atem was blushing. "I'm in love with you too, Seto."

He smiled at the strange feeling in his chest when Atem said his real name. It was even better than hearing it from Yuugi. Thinking about Yuugi and the others outside, Seto started to tell Atem about then when he interrupted. "I still need to explain...My uncle...he was planning to betray my kingdom. He had devised some kind of plan with the Snow Queen to make her power unstoppable. My father was entrusted with a ruby amulet, passed down for two generations. I overheard my uncle talking to the Snow Queen through ice crystal she had given him. He told her he had the amulet and was going to poison us that coming morning. I confronted him and we fought..."

"Sounds like self defense to me."

Atem shook his head and pulled himself from Seto's grip. "I managed to get the amulet from him, with the intention of running to father, but the instant I held the amulet in my hands I realized it wasn't a stone at all. it was a small vial of glowing red liquid. I heard a voice in my head telling me to drink it and then, I blacked out. When I came too I stood over my uncle with a dagger in one hand and the empty chain of the amulet in the other. He was dead. I didn't know what to do so I ran to Yuugi."

Amulet? Red liquid...how would that help the queen? Seto started to say something when he heard someone entering the castle. He grabbed ahold of his sword lying next to them and stood. Scooping Atem up into his arms after he stood, Seto carried him to the throne and set him down on it. He leaned in to give Atem a quick and scorching kiss. "Stay."

"I promise. I'll never leave you again."

His vision blurred again and then sharpened while Atem looked on in awe. His eyes must be on fire again and he could see the flame from his sword larger than ever, just like when he was yelling at Joey. Seto didn't have time to think about it, however, as the snow queen spoke from behind him. "Well well...What have we here?"

Seto turned and began to walk towards the queen with his head held high and his shoulders back. "Get out of my castle."

His eyes zeroed on in the necklace around the queen's neck. If he could get that necklace from her and destroy it, her power would diminish. The queen grinned wickedly. "So...you did manage to survive my ice dragon. Pity your friends didn't."

Seto glared at her, his grip on his sword tightening. He might not have been able to help them any longer, but he could finish what they started. Charging at her with his sword raised, Seto never removed his eyes from the cursed necklace. Even when she transformed into her true form, a white dragon with cold blue eyes, he refused to falter. She opened her mouth and breathed white ice, like the ice dragon did before but much more powerful, directly at Seto. In order to keep himself from being hit, he dove to the right, rolling back onto his feet and kept running closer to her. She reared her head at him and he barely had time to deflect her horns with his sword. The impact knocked him down and the dragon queen lifted her massive foot to stop on him. Atem shouted from behind him. "Seto watch out!"

Seto looked up and realized there was no way for him to move far enough to not get hit. He held his breath, paralyzed until he saw a small shiny object pierce the underside of the dragon's foot. The queen roared in pain and stumbled backward. Seto stared up at the now open ceiling to see a black blur fall through and onto the dragon queen's neck. Recognizing that black blur's crow beak, shook Seto enough to allow him to move again. Scrambling to his feet he ran up and slashed at the queen's neck, breaking the chain of the necklace and sending it flying over to the throne where Atem sat. The queen roared and threw the crow over her horned head but he still managed to hold on. With one swift movement she slammed her head, where Joey held on, into the castle wall destroying it and leaving the crow in the rubble. Seto didn't know what to do. Should he go after the necklace, help Joey or attack the queen again? His decision was made up for him when he heard a deafening roar from behind him. Crouching down and covering his ears, he turned around to see Atem's hand touching the dragon sculpture's neck. Except the sculpture was an actual dragon; black scales and red eyes. His eyes widened more when he saw Atem's hand encased in red fire. The black dragon roared again and charged at the dragon queen knocking her down and through another castle wall. As if summoned, Kisara landed onto what was left of the icy ceiling, lowering her wings for Yuugi, Tea and Mai to jump down. Seto stood again and shouted to them. "HELP JOEY AND DO NOT TOUCH THAT NECKLACE!"

He didn't wait long enough to get a response from any of them before turning to the fighting dragons. Once he saw the black dragon pin the dragon queen's neck down to the ground with its teeth leaving her underbelly open, he charged. Piercing the dragon's hide with his sword he fell backwards as the swords fire spread to the dragon. He didn't expect the dragon to burn, she was a dragon, but instead of burning she began to melt, just like the icy castle around them. Everyone covered their ears as she began to shriek in pain and rage, even Kisara bowed her head. Seto admired the black dragon for its ferocity, he was the only one unphased by her anguish. When the shrieking stopped, Seto ran towards the necklace hoping that they had listened to his warning. Luckily it still sat at Atem's feet and he scooped it up relieved. The instant he held it in his hands he felt the pull of power from within it. Soloman was right, this necklace was powerful. He could feel the desire for power welling up within him as he stared at it in the palm of his hand. His hand became covered in frost that creeped up his arm and threatened to consume him. Slowly he began to register other voices around him, but the looming power of the necklace stayed. "Stay with us Joey."

Atem stayed on the throne, watching him very closely. Seto closed his hand over the necklace and walked over to Joey. Mai held his head in her lap while Tea pressed part of her torn dress into Joey's abdomen to stop the bleeding. Yuugi sat on his other side, holding his hand and speaking softly to him. Joey had already lost too much blood, his face white as snow; which was strange contrast to the black crow mask that laid on the ruble beside him. Seto knelt down and replaced Tea's hands. Shortly after she removed her hands, the cloth and Joey became frozen from the power of the necklace at Seto's hands. "The frost will keep him alive for now but you need to find Mahaado or Princess Mana to heal him with magic."

Tea blinked at Seto like he'd lost his mind. "Mana's..."

"Mana and Mahaado are at the castle gates, Tea. She's alive. Go get her." Yuugi reassured her.

She jumped up and ran as fast as she could, without slipping, out of the throne room to the castle gates. Seto stood as the sun rose spreading its light over them. He backed away and opened his palm to look at the necklace again. Should he destroy it? It was so beautiful in the morning sun, just like sunlight gleaming off of freshly fallen snow. He could keep it...he could do great things with it. Suddenly he felt arms wrapping around him from behind, and warm hands covering over his heart. "Did you come here for that?"

Seto blinked, trying to tear his eyes away from the necklace. "No. I came for you."

"Then destroy it, so you can be with me."

It was so much more difficult than that, but Atem was right. He was here for him, nothing else. The necklace began to burn and melt in blue fire, but it hurt to watch it go. Atem's hands on his heart dulled the ache but his hand still shook from the pain, an imprint of the necklace burned into his palm. When the last of it became ash and smoke Seto turned to see Yuugi practically beaming at him despite tears in his eyes. "I've very proud of you. Of both of you."

Atem let go of Seto to wrap his brother in a tight hug. He decided to leave them be and check on Joey. Both Yuugi and Atem hadn't seen each other in years. Mahaado and Mana knelt around Joey, their hands glowing with magic. He looked so much better, his color had returned to his face and his breathing was strong. Satisfied with his health, he turned looked up at the crumpled wall that Kisara had perched on. He held back a snort of amusement seeing Kisara snuggled close to the black dragon. He did recognize him. Kisara's mate. When the black dragon saw Seto looking at them he climbed down from the wall and approached him. Everyone turned their attention to the dragon and Seto, all except Mana and Mahaado.

"My King, Thank you." The dragon bowed his head and then turned to face Atem. "And thank you, my Prince, for releasing me. It seems I am bound to you like Kisara is bound to King Seto."

Atem frowned in confusion. "Bound to me?"

"You drank my dragon blood from within the vile. Just like King Seto's grandfather did." The black dragon growled lowly in explanation. "If the Snow Queen would have gotten ahold of my blood, she would have been immune to dragon fire."

"But you were right here the whole time. Couldn't she have just taken your blood?" Yuugi asked.

"My scales are impenetrable." He boomed full of pride.

"Show off..." Kisara hissed in amusement, climbing down as well to buck her head into his neck.

Mana bounded into view smiling happily. "The crow is all better now! Well...he'll live anyway."

"All of the queen's icy minions are melting and the others are being...Taken care of." A dragon roared from above as it swooped into a circle above them. "Welcome back My King."

Suddenly the sky became filled with dragons and Seto smiled at the beautiful sight. "Mokuba would love this."

"Oh don't worry, He's flying around up there somewhere." Tea giggled from Mana's side, looking up into the sky as well. "He insisted on coming."

Seto laughed. He would.

Epilogue:

Seto clapped along with the crowd at the beautiful ball held for the coronation of the new King and Queen of West. The last few months had been hard for Atem and Yuugi since their father had become ill and passed away. Seto was just happy that Atem and his father had made up and got a chance to spend a few years together before that happened. He smiled as Queen Mana bowed elegantly in front of him and held out her hand. "You have to dance with me."

He allowed her to pull him out onto the dance floor, the music starting up again. King Mahaado waved to them from the sidelines, their two year old girl on waving at them as well from his shoulders. Seto was still surprised Mahaado had agreed to take the East kingdom instead of stay in the south. His father, the King of South, floored Seto by accepting him as a king immediately. He even sent help to both the East and North castles to rebuild them. Three years later and Seto was still rebuilding his family's castle and the kingdom that was encased in ice for almost a decade.

They danced through half the song before Mana's shoulder was tapped by Atem. "May I cut in?"

"Of course Atem!" Mana sang happily and kissed his cheek, gliding away through the crowd.

Seto wrapped his arms around Atem and pulled him close as they began to dance. "I've missed you."

Atem chuckled before kissing him. "Did you?"

"Yes. Where have you been?"

Atem rolled his eyes and looked around at the other dancing couples while they spun around the dance floor in perfect motion. "Your 'little' brother was getting himself in trouble again with one of the duchess' daughters."

"Hmmm. Maybe I should have left him at home with Kisara, huh?" Seto hummed softly running his lips over Atem's neck.

Atem shivered in response, continuing to tell him about Mokuba's indiscretion and the rest of his time in the West while they danced. Seto hung on every word. He hadn't seen Atem since they had received news of his father's illness. The only thing keeping him going through this party was knowing he'd have his lover all to himself when it ended. "Joey wanted to be here. He was a little upset that Yuugi sent him and Mai away to check out a threat in the mountains."

"I'm sure he was." Seto scoffed. "He lives for pissing me off." Atem laughed heartily. "He does. You should have seen him pouting." The music ended and the guests all clapped, but Atem refused to let Seto go, Instead, he leaned close, his lips ghosted over the shell of Seto's ear while he whispered, "I'm ready to go home."

Author's notes:

I hope you enjoyed this little retelling of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson. Let me know what you thought. :D


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